Is there any hope?

[Quencher]

Is there any hope that we will win a Pac-10 game in the near future (this year or next)?

Is there any hope of ever being able to see the Cats play on TV again? (live)

Is there any chance that we'll end up with even an avergae recruiting class this year?

This program is spiraling downward and picking up speed. If we simply weren't winning close, competative games, then we could be 0-forever and I'd be fine with it. But we are simply not getting any better, we are not even remotely competative and we have not one positive sign that we ever will be again.

I can take the positive signs form the Husky and WSU games, but can we excuse the performances against OSU, Oregon and UCLA? If it's injuries, if it's team chemistry, if it's play calling, defensive schemes, whatever - the coaching staff needs to step up and take responsibility for it.

A win against ASU and I'm all for giving Mack one more year to win the PAC-10 and two more years to win a national championship. Anything short of those three goals and he should do the honorable thing and resign, IMO.

If all of Arizona's tax paying citizens can't watch EVERY SINGLE Wildcat game live then the Athletic director should have the courage to resign also. That is pure crap. Don't sign a contract that limits your coverage, it's an inexcusable blunder only an idiot would make. Hello- recruits might want to watch the games also, not to mention the hundred thousands or so alumni who live in this state.

[BlueMikey]

Originally posted by Quencher
If it's injuries, if it's team chemistry, if it's play calling, defensive schemes, whatever - the coaching staff needs to step up and take responsibility for it.

That makes no sense...you want the coaching staff to take responsibility for guys getting hurt? It's not like the players are in poor condition, they just kept getting hurt. That's not a coaching problem.

Originally posted by Quencher
A win against ASU and I'm all for giving Mack one more year to win the PAC-10 and two more years to win a national championship. Anything short of those three goals and he should do the honorable thing and resign, IMO.

Sure, it makes a lot of sense to have Mackovic resign so some other coach can come in and use recruits that the new coach didn't get that won't work well in his scheme. Then, when he doesn't get many wins, we can fire him after 3 seasons. Why don't you people let Mackovic get a couple players that match his playbook before you start calling for another coach to come in and lose a lot of games.

Look, the problem is that all the good players are injured and all the bad players don't have the right talents to go with Mackovic's offense. We knew before last year this would be a tough offense and we would need the right personnel. You've got to give him a chance.

Originally posted by Quencher
If all of Arizona's tax paying citizens can't watch EVERY SINGLE Wildcat game live then the Athletic director should have the courage to resign also. That is pure crap. Don't sign a contract that limits your coverage, it's an inexcusable blunder only an idiot would make. Hello- recruits might want to watch the games also, not to mention the hundred thousands or so alumni who live in this state.

The Pac-10 signs the deals with Fox Sports Net, not Arizona. As we've seen before, even if Arizona voted no for a deal with Fox Sports Net, it wouldn't matter (can you say Pac-10 Basketball Tourney?).

Unless you want Arizona to quit the Pac-10, it is ridiculous to call for Livengood's head because you didn't get to see Arizona lose by 30+ points.

Besides, even if these games WERE on TV, they would most likely only be local to the two markets. If the FSN contact said Arizona could show games during the same time as their weekly game, it's not like Arizona would be on that FSN game, we'd be stuck with the game being local on KWBA.

[Quencher]

Our players have been consistently hurt for four or five years. Not just a few, many. We have not started our five or six best O-linemen in a single game since long before Tomey left. We haven't had a four man pass rush in at least three years. Our defensive backfield hasn't been the same in two consecutive games since before I can recall.

The coaches need to change conditioning drills, weight lifting, strength training or something to change this pattern. Fire the trainers, hire soemone different - somewhere, something is behind the absurd number of injuries, we need to find out what it is and correct the problem. That IS the coaches responsibility.

Look, too many programs can turn it around in one year. Cal and Notre dame are the two that come to mind this season. Those coaches are not playing with players they recruited and the players have ahd to learn new systems. We have the top receiver in the PAC-10, the third best QB in the Pac-10 and the #1 rusher in the pac ten return and our offense is worse than last year. I wonder what Tedford or Willingham would have been able to do with Farmer, Johnson and Wade. Talent is talent - we obviously don't have all the pieces, but the players fitting into a system argument just doesn't apply to a guy like Farmer - ANY system in the country would love to have him.

Finally - there is absolutely nothing wrong with local coverage on KWBA or any other channel - it's still Arizona football and should be shown throughout the state, live. It always was before.

[BlueMikey]

Originally posted by Quencher
The coaches need to change conditioning drills, weight lifting, strength training or something to change this pattern. Fire the trainers, hire soemone different - somewhere, something is behind the absurd number of injuries, we need to find out what it is and correct the problem. That IS the coaches responsibility.

So, again, you are telling me that the reason for injuries is the coaches problem, and not freak accidents...so instead of blaming injuries which has left out our best RB (the best in the Pac-10), CB, S (before UCLA), half of the starting OL, half of the starting DL...and all the other injuries at just about every single position on the field, you chose to think that it has something to do with coaching. You can't coach someone out of getting a broken arm.

The difference between this year and previous is the people who are stepping in are not good backups.

Originally posted by Quencher
We have the top receiver in the PAC-10, the third best QB in the Pac-10 and the #1 rusher in the pac ten return and our offense is worse than last year. I wonder what Tedford or Willingham would have been able to do with Farmer, Johnson and Wade. Talent is talent - we obviously don't have all the pieces, but the players fitting into a system argument just doesn't apply to a guy like Farmer - ANY system in the country would love to have him.

Yeah, because, obviously, Mackovic now can't only not coach D, but he can't coach O.

You know, I'd like to see what ANYONE could do with Farmer, Johnson, and Wade, but if you haven't been watching, Farmer's not around. Johnson and Wade still connect for some good stuff, and would connect for more if Johnson didn't underthrow his receivers so often. But, then again, when Johnson gets 0 time to try to throw a pass, you can't do much with that. When teams don't respect the running game (which would be 100 times better with Farmer in) they drop so many guys back to cover our two good receivers that Johnson has no one open to pass to. But, like I said, not like that matters, since Johnson gets hammered before any receiver can get 5 yards deep. [/B][/QUOTE]

Originally posted by Quencher
Finally - there is absolutely nothing wrong with local coverage on KWBA or any other channel - it's still Arizona football and should be shown throughout the state, live. It always was before.

Yes, but that is NOT ARIZONA FOOTBALL'S FAULT. You are ignoring the argument that this is a Pac-10 problem. Arizona is a member of an organization that took a TV contract that makes it so only one game can be shown on TV ANYWHERE.

[Quencher]

1. Pac-10, NCAA, The FBI, CIA the Roman Catholic Church or the Symbianese Liberation Army - I don't care what organization we are part of - no school should ever screw it's fan base out of TV coverage.

2. The injuries are WAY too common in our program. It may not be the FAULT of the coaches but it is their RESPONSIBILITY to fix the problem. Injuries are part of the game - we all know that. Don't you think something is wrong when NOT one single D1 opponent has recorded even 1/2 the number of injuries we have?

When was the last time we faced an opponent who's offensive line AND defensive lines were decimated? Who was the last Arizona offensive lineman to start more than three games ina row? The big kid from TUCSON on UCLA's line started nearly 40 games in his career at UCLA. Isn't odd that no offensive lineman at Arizona in the past five years or so has even started a majority of the season?

We need to adress the injury situation with physical conditioning and strength training and we are OBVIOUSLY either not doing that or not doing it right. That the coaches responsibility to fix. Period.

[BlueMikey]

Originally posted by Quencher
1. Pac-10, NCAA, The FBI, CIA the Roman Catholic Church or the Symbianese Liberation Army - I don't care what organization we are part of - no school should ever screw it's fan base out of TV coverage.

Then give a solution, be useful. Tell me HOW the school had something to do with the TV situation (other than the team being poor and no station wanting to give it west-regional coverage). Tell me how Arizona could have fixed this problem.

Originally posted by Quencher
2. The injuries are WAY too common in our program. It may not be the FAULT of the coaches but it is their RESPONSIBILITY to fix the problem. Injuries are part of the game - we all know that. Don't you think something is wrong when NOT one single D1 opponent has recorded even 1/2 the number of injuries we have?

There were not this many injuries last year, so what changed in the coaching department? Why wasn't Clarance Farmer injured last year if its a coaching problem. Or Michael Jolivette, or anyone who's injured. Mackovic was the coach last year, and everthing stayed the same, so tell me what changed.

We have played teams in the past years that were struggling with this many injuries, and they struggled through each season too.

Surely it is odd that our O-line is always troubled with injuries. But the unhealthy O-line has dated back since before Mackovic -- ever since Arizona was 12-1. So its obviously not a Mackovic problem.

Originally posted by Quencher
We need to adress the injury situation with physical conditioning and strength training and we are OBVIOUSLY either not doing that or not doing it right. That the coaches responsibility to fix. Period.

Like I said, its obviously not possible that all of these injuries could just be freak injuries. You feel the need to blame someone, instead of believing that its just an unlucky injury season for the UA. So you turn to Mackovic but have no clear evidence to backup that it has anything to do with coaching.

If you tell me that Dick Tomey is running the same stupid up-the-gut play over and over and over, well, that looks like a coaching problem to me. If Mackovic isn't putting in the right personnel, or getting the players motivated to play (though, they should have enough heart on their own), then that's a coaching problem.

But what do you think they are doing? Do you think these players are spending no time in the weight room? According to our injuries, do you think that Arizona has the WORST weight training program in the whole country?

It's ridiculous to blame everything on the coaches, which is what you people who jump on and off the coaches bandwagon everytime the team switches from good to bad or bad to good do...you don't understand that just because a team plays poor does NOT mean the coach sucks. You don't understand that just because a team has injuries that a coach sucks.

Maybe its a conditioning problem, I'm not going to say that's not possible. But you have to ask the players before you jump all over Mackovic, because, truth be told, you know nothing about the conditioning of these players.

[UAFB]

what happened to meg ritchie? I swear I saw her on the sidelines at an oregon game... would'nt surprise me if thats where she went...

Bring back Meg Ritchie!!!!

[OJ Did It]

Can Meg suit up?

What is the deal with everyone wanting others to provide statistical evidence to back their claims? I thought I gave a thoughtful defense for the hiring of Rickey Hunley and nobody responded. Was it that convincing? Come on somebody, give me a little love!

[BlueMikey]

Originally posted by OJ Did It
What is the deal with everyone wanting others to provide statistical evidence to back their claims? I thought I gave a thoughtful defense for the hiring of Rickey Hunley and nobody responded. Was it that convincing? Come on somebody, give me a little love!

Does Rickey Hunley have any head coaching experience anywhere? (If no, then I'd say that's a reason why not.)

Arizona is a good, storied program with a long history of, if at least not being good, then being not mediocre. If they were to get rid of John Mackovic, I would think it would only be with the idea that another seasoned coach could step in right away and take over.

[RubenD]

I think if Mac leaves, Arizona should take a "chance" on a young, talented coach. Things can't get worse. Why not take a chance at making them much, much better for a long, long time?

[OJ Did It]

Everybody has to get their chance somewhere. Several first year coaches have had success in the past building legit programs. Look what Coach Tedford has done at Cal, no one inherited a bigger mess than he did. Whos to say we could even attract an impressive-experienced coach. After all, we hired Mackovic, the so-called savior.

[BlueMikey]

Sure, there are a handful of first-year coaches who have had good successes at larger-size programs. But those are just the success stories that we hear about. How many of these brand-new coaches fizzle out, not to be heard from again?

I can see taking a chance on a new coach, but its just that, taking a chance. A brand new coach brings no recruiting base (Tomey farmed Hawaii and the Pacific, Mackovic is attempting to farm Texas), and no experience managing 85 18-22 year-old guys. A new coach could turn out well, but you have to be prepared for it turning out bad. I'd prefer to have the vet (and to give the vet some time to get the bad program back on track).