I've had it

[WVAPPeer]

I'm reposting this from another thread ---

I wasn't at the game and only listened to David and Steve so I can't give a personal opinion on what I saw/didn't see --- I think some people mistake "lack of effort" with many other factors - teams which are struggling almost seem to find another way for things to go south and it's not always in the hands of the players/coaches - Last week the Price catch/drop (and my buddy Firemoose was watching and says without a doubt it should have been a TD) - score there we go up 10-7 and builds some life - yesterday a 98 INT return - a TD for us there and we got up 10-6 --- and it began at Montana - going into score at the end of the 3rd and fumble on the 3 yard line - TD there and we are down 16-13 heading into the 4th ---That's not to say we would have won those game, but I truly believe things like that severely affect a struggling team, especially a young team ---
Sure our coaches are struggling as well - they didn't all go "stupid" in the off-season - the keys guys have coached for some times in big games through tough seasons - they must have time!!!

As many like to say - "Satterfield is in over his head" --- Well hell yeah he is, just like 99% of young assistant coaches taking over their first head coaching job (add all the other drama with this ASU job) - After a few years as a head coach I looked back on my first couple of years and thought "How could I have been so dumb?" - "Why in the world did I/did I not do that? - etc., and I was just coaching in high school not big-time college football---

The coaches are frustrated - the seniors are frustrated - the young guys are struggling at times but let's not confuse all of this, plus the "bounce of the ball" with "lack of effort and giving up" ---

[AppRy]

There might be a coaching problem but this team was taking a major step back this season either way. It can't be emphasized enough that our star QB didn't come back the same player from ACL surgery. If we had known that before the season started expectations would have been lowered dramatically. Recruiting did waiver in the last few years under JM and was one of the big reasons people were unhappy with him. He completely ignored the OL and RB positions and our atrocious OL play is a big reason for our Ls last year and one of the problems this year. No protection for a young QB and no push for our RBs. Our athletic QBs masked this in recent years but it was glaring after Jamal got hurt last year and even more so this year. Jerry should be thanking Cobb for showing him the door when he did.

That said, Satterfield has made some big mistakes this year and I can't help but wonder if he's lost the team (if he ever had it). Hiring Satt seemed like a perfect match but the school/fans didn't give enough consideration to the difficulty of being a first time HC; taking over for a legend that was forced out and recruited most of the team; trying to motivate a team that has nothing to play for especially after you bench the locker room leader in Jamal; and attempting to call the offense from the sidelines instead of from the box.

Lots of problems. No easy solution in my mind. I hope that Satt can learn from his mistakes this year and position the team well going into next season. He had a great recruiting class last year but recruiting is different from coaching. Can he bring in another strong class? Can he motivate the team and bring them together when they have something to play for? Will his future teams fall apart when they fall out of contention for championship/bowl games? Will he name someone to be OC and call plays from the box in the offseason? GA Southern and Western are two games that will determine his future in my mind. If we are competitive against a good GA Southern team then maybe he can still get this team motivated. If we can win against an improving but bad Western team, there's some hope he can bring them together to play well and go out on a (very small) up note for the season.

[WVAPPeer]

Per the comments regarding recruiting --- I would like to add that I doubt seriously Coach Moore and staff "completely ignored" certain positions - we didn't get some of our targets - that happens and one was the big FU tackle Dozier who was coming to APP but decided he needed to stay close to home for family reasons - Also, REST ASSURED, all of our competitors were telling recruits that Coach Moore wasn't going to be coaching much longer and then they wouldn't know who they would be playing for -
There are positives as some have mentioned, the core of this team is very young, we have, I am sure, some very good players are being red-shirted and any new recruits can see that they could have a chance to contribute early --- Wide open competition will lead to better players ---

[87ASUgrad]

"Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell No and it's not over now!"

Just for the record, the Germans never bombed Pearl Harbor. It was the Imperial Japanese Navy under orders from Emperor Hirohito of the Empire of Japan.

Yes Sir, it is a joke from the movie "Animal House" by John Belushi. Just trying to inject some humor. Go APPS!!

[JCline0429]

Yesterday was hard to watch. I can't imagine what is going through the minds of the seniors. It's as if they have gone from "nothing to play for" to "why are we playing"? I believe they are in a flux beyond what we can imagine, looking for something to create a spark as evidenced by Tony Washington's decision to return a kickoff from nine yards deep in the endzone. He knows better than that. Desperation makes for desperate decisions.

In the stands, there was a lot of head-shaking as well as moans, me included. As always, win or lose, there will always be a few that yell at players and coaches. However the worst thing I heard yesterday was chuckling. I felt sorry for the guys on the field because their own fans were laughing at them. I'm sure they didn't hear it but it drove a stake through my heart.

It occurs to me that looking up is a lot harder than looking down. It is ever so hard but I'll continue in the up position.

There is no excuse for yelling at the players and it doesn't do any good to yell at coaches. They certainly aren't listening to hear what the fans are yelling. Hopefully they are concentrating on the game.

[JCline0429]

Per the comments regarding recruiting --- I would like to add that I doubt seriously Coach Moore and staff "completely ignored" certain positions - we didn't get some of our targets - that happens and one was the big FU tackle Dozier who was coming to APP but decided he needed to stay close to home for family reasons - Also, REST ASSURED, all of our competitors were telling recruits that Coach Moore wasn't going to be coaching much longer and then they wouldn't know who they would be playing for -
There are positives as some have mentioned, the core of this team is very young, we have, I am sure, some very good players are being red-shirted and any new recruits can see that they could have a chance to contribute early --- Wide open competition will lead to better players ---

Rep point, WVAPPeer. I wonder how people on here seem to know we didn't go after certain positions. Not signing recruits and not going after them is another. You made a good point about opposing schools using Jerry's age as a recruiting tool.

[sixtoes9134]

I have said for the last 5 years that Jerry's age was an opposing recruiter dream come true.

[SpeedkingATL]

This season has been awful but I just keep telling myself that this is a very young team with a first year head coach playing under a transition label. Hopefully it will get better and maybe a "line in the sand" will be drawn against GaSo on Black Saturday. No matter how you feel about Moore, Satterfield, Price, the recruiting, the play calling, the music selection, or the weather, try and support these guys. How would you feel in their shoes. We are all Mountaineers.

[JCline0429]

This season has been awful but I just keep telling myself that this is a very young team with a first year head coach playing under a transition label. Hopefully it will get better and maybe a "line in the sand" will be drawn against GaSo on Black Saturday. No matter how you feel about Moore, Satterfield, Price, the recruiting, the play calling, the music selection, or the weather, try and support these guys. How would you feel in their shoes. We are all Mountaineers.

Rep point and one of the few positive posts in the past few weeks.

[MtnDevil95]

No doubt about it, this season is a disappointment on several levels, but all is not lost. In spite of the most recent drubbings, I still believe this team is one or two plays from a 4-3 or 5-2 record, and that there is still a reason to believe they have 2 or 3 wins in them yet. I agree, it's highly unlikely, but I still believe.

Even if the worst comes to pass, and App finishes 1-11 with an abominable loss to 'Whee, there will still be plenty of hope for the future. Appalachian brings into the future a strong tradition and dedicated, relatively large fanbase. If the fans hang tough and we begin to see some positives out of the first couple of seasons in the FBS (even if the win-loss is still bad) there is reason to expect improvement and Bowl invitations in the future.

[App91]

Time to play the guys who stand on the home sidelines wearing jeans and do not have their names on the back of their jersey! Maybe we will find some "want to" there! I do not buy that we are playing hard and have bad breaks. We are a more talented team, top to bottom, than we have faced this year. The drive and perseverance is what wins games. We dont have that.

[WVAPPeer]

Time to play the guys who stand on the home sidelines wearing jeans and do not have their names on the back of their jersey! Maybe we will find some "want to" there! I do not buy that we are playing hard and have bad breaks. We are a more talented team, top to bottom, than we have faced this year. The drive and perseverance is what wins games. We dont have that.

91- what you point out is true - mostly - In my opinion Montana and Samford were clearly better teams - but you can't discount breaks even if you are playing hard - remember that JMU fumble in '07 playoffs - that ball took some funny hops before we recovered - Corey's blocked FG at Mich - their guy totally missed his assignment - 1st NC against No Iowa - Marques sacks the guy and the ball bounces right into Jason's hand - etc. --- good teams make some breaks and really good teams know they will make something happen to produce a win - struggling and young teams HOPE they don't make a mistake and HOPE they may get a positive break - again since I have seen only one live game, I can't say every player on this team is giving 100% but when teams, any teams (see the NYG - 2 time Super Bowl winners - 0-6 this year) are struggling and a bad break happens it is magnified several times over - a young college team struggling is magnified even more ---
Remember when we had really good teams (not that long ago) and the mantra when playing a struggling opponent was "knock them out early, don't even let them think they have a chance to win"?
I will say that the one game I have attended I was concerned about the total lack of enthusiasm on the sidelines ---

[WataugaMan]

Agreed, there are games where things don't go your way and you end up on the losing side in a situation where you probably should have won. However, after A&T, Charleston So, El Cid, and now Furple one has to wonder.

[BeauFoster]

It's a weird feeling agreeing so often with WV...but it's happening more and more frequently. I guess I'm just getting older

[ViewCrew87]

Good points WV but you and I know that HOPE is not a plan. We don't seem to have a plan.

[AppAttack]

I don't know if I buy the idea that Moore did not slip in recruiting; that he went after players but just didn't get them. How do you get those players for the first 20 years of your career and stop getting them after 3 National Championships and a win over Michigan? Maybe there is something to opponents using his age against him in recruiting wars those last few years. Maybe it was the change in philosophy; with the power-I you need good linemen and with the spread (and our good qb/wr) not as much. Whatever happened we need to load up in the trenches.

[WataugaMan]

Whatever happened we need to load up in the trenches.

Hear Hear!!

[ASUMountaineer]

Just got on..not been message boarding as much recently. Anyways, Saturday I was buying a car. And, as everyone knows how badly that sucks, it sure sounds like I had a more enjoyable time than anyone attending, watching, or listening to the game. Dag nab it!

[JTApps1]

I'm reposting this from another thread ---

I wasn't at the game and only listened to David and Steve so I can't give a personal opinion on what I saw/didn't see --- I think some people mistake "lack of effort" with many other factors - teams which are struggling almost seem to find another way for things to go south and it's not always in the hands of the players/coaches - Last week the Price catch/drop (and my buddy Firemoose was watching and says without a doubt it should have been a TD) - score there we go up 10-7 and builds some life - yesterday a 98 INT return - a TD for us there and we got up 10-6 --- and it began at Montana - going into score at the end of the 3rd and fumble on the 3 yard line - TD there and we are down 16-13 heading into the 4th ---That's not to say we would have won those game, but I truly believe things like that severely affect a struggling team, especially a young team ---
Sure our coaches are struggling as well - they didn't all go "stupid" in the off-season - the keys guys have coached for some times in big games through tough seasons - they must have time!!!

As many like to say - "Satterfield is in over his head" --- Well hell yeah he is, just like 99% of young assistant coaches taking over their first head coaching job (add all the other drama with this ASU job) - After a few years as a head coach I looked back on my first couple of years and thought "How could I have been so dumb?" - "Why in the world did I/did I not do that? - etc., and I was just coaching in high school not big-time college football---

The coaches are frustrated - the seniors are frustrated - the young guys are struggling at times but let's not confuse all of this, plus the "bounce of the ball" with "lack of effort and giving up" ---

I was at the game so I'll share my thoughts based on what I saw Saturday. The lack of effort by some players was noticeable, but there were plenty that still played hard. It seemed like a few of them (mainly seniors) were trying too hard and they ended up forcing things. I may be way off here, but it seems like the problem lies with the guys in the middle classes. The seniors are playing hard since it's their last go, the freshmen are playing hard trying to improve, but the juniors and some sophomores seem to have given up. Obviously that isn't true for all of them but it seems like most of the issues lie within that group. It could be a combination of several things like playing for a coach that didn't recruit them, poor attitude/poor character evaluation in recruiting, lack of talent, or having nothing to play for this year. The reason probably varies from player to player.

The most glaring issue is that we are a much worse team now than we were on August 31. Unfortunately, this is a reflection on coaching. That doesn't mean I think we should get rid of Satterfield, but his lack of experience is hurting him in this area. I'm just hoping he can figure out some way to motivate this team, and find a way to win a game or two down the stretch. There was zero life on the sideline after the pick 6 to put us down 13-3. This group is too fragile mentally to take a blow like that and bounce back. Furman was not a good team, but after that INT we were never in the game with them.

[WVAPPeer]

Good points WV but you and I know that HOPE is not a plan. We don't seem to have a plan.

You are correct - You know this VC87, as I used to tell my guys, "When we step onto the field and EXPECT to win and our opponents come onto the field HOPING to win, we already have half the battle won"
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