Three throws in a row over the end zone that weren't catchable? A high school QB knows you have to give your guys a chance.
I mean I wanted Leonhard. Great storyline but the team wasn’t much bette with him instead of Chryst. Can an off-season make any difference?
@MichiganPacker posted:Three throws in a row over the end zone that weren't catchable? A high school QB knows you have to give your guys a chance.
And the refs…make it catchable
Again for the 1,000th time look at the last 5-6 years of this team. They lack discipline. Turnovers, stupid penalties, and lots of mistakes.
They aren’t good enough to overcome that bullshit and yes Leonard owns some of that.
I would like to see Mertz out of this program tonight. Absolute killer. Hit the wide open first down pass on his interception drive and you have a chance. He’s absolutely brutal.
i hope JL cleans house on the coaching staff. Maybe, maybe keep bostad.
If it's true and he's been hired, then the incompetence goes right to the top. Nothing personal, but what exactly was demonstrated that warranted this hire since the Chryst firing? Mediocrity at best. If passing on Leonard means a lot of transfers, then so be it. Those guys are likely a part of the problem. Good riddance.
If you hire Leonhard you are settling for more Paul Chryst mediocre bullshit. If I’m a fat cat booster that’s not OK.
The Badgers aren’t Bama or Georgia or LSU but the season tickets aren’t cheap and the program has asked for a lot more out of its fans.
6-6? That’s pathetic. And they didn’t play Michigan or Penn State this year.
The threat of transfers means nothing to an average team. Go ahead Allen. You might be 3rd string for the Wolverines. They will be just fine at RB with or without you.
@MichiganPacker posted:LOL. A 5 yard out. 25 yards instead of 30 makes a difference?
[Gently reminds @MichiganPacker of 4th and 26]
An honest question - bigger disaster Packers or Badgers football?
I fear the athletic department is in horrible hands. This university's premiere sports programs are too inbred. Gard replaces Bo. Bring back Chryst then replace him with Leonard. In hockey they bring in all American Badger Mike Eaves, then replace him with a Badger alum Tony Granato. Hockey was once a crown jewel. Now it's becoming a joke. Jesus Christ, were Alvarez and McIntosh allowed to hire a non-alum? Do people in the administration realize there are highly qualified candidates that did not attend UW or live in Wisconsin? Boy do they need a slap in the face to snap them out of their myopia.
Packers.
Nobody really expects the Badgers to be a title contender.
The old Badger playbook…solid, opportunistic D, real good special teams, great OLine and running backs, very few mistakes and hardly any penalties.
Whats left today?
I’d rather they do what the Packers should do, but won’t. Top-down change. But hey, at least they made another bowl, right? 🚽🧻
At least we have women’s volleyball.
JL needs to tell fuckhead Mertz he will not be the starting QB next season. Essentially force him to try and transfer somewhere.
I am grateful for the success of those women's programs. I watch the few women's hockey games that make it on TV on the Big10 network, they tied and beat the Goofers last weekend. The heavy lifters are men's football and basketball. Hockey used to generate profit, but not in its current state. Leonard better pull this thing together or we're back to the pre-Alvarez era, and that will affect those programs that are currently succeeding.
As disappointing as Mertz turned out to be versus his HS rating, I am not a huge fan of cursing the name of a young athlete, at least not based on his effort on the field. These are 18-22 year old college, well, “kids” really. I don’t wish to have him be a starter for the team I follow next season, but not willing to f-bomb these young people, either. I agree absolutely that he is in over his head at this level of football and that the program as a whole appears to be sliding back towards the 1980s squads, as has been mentioned.
@ammo posted:Did Rhule even apply for the job? Did anyone except JL apply for the job? Why would anybody apply for the job knowing Mertz is probably your QB for next season.
JL did
Just picked me up some Mertz merch at his website:
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@Pikes Peak posted:The old Badger playbook…solid, opportunistic D, real good special teams, great OLine and running backs, very few mistakes and hardly any penalties.
Whats left today?
If they had a typical "good" Badger QB like Jack Coan (not a star, but someone that makes the easy throws and doesn't turn the ball over), the Badgers win against Washington State, MSU, Iowa, and Minnesota. That's a 10-2 record and everything else looks different.
Mertz is so frustrating because he'll make throws that are better than any other Badgers QB other than Russell Wilson (like a completion to Dike today rolling out and placing the ball on a line in a small window) but then sail balls over the head of wide open guys or fail to make an easy throw in the flat.
What’s the upside to hiring Leonhard full time? We all know he’s practically a Wisconsin football folk hero, but that alone doesn’t get you Ws. You have to recruit and inspire and develop - and get better.
Since winning the Orange Bowl half a decade ago this team has been on a downward slide and yes that includes most of the time that JL was on the staff. What’s shocking to me is just how bad at times the defense has looked.
If the rationale is they have to “keep it in the family” and hire JL then they have to go back to the Alvarez footprint. Strong OL and RB play. Solid special teams. Game manager at QB. Tough, disciplined, fundamentally sound football. The funny thing is that blueprint currently exists - it’s just at Minnesota and Illinois and Iowa now. This program bears little to no resemblance to the former Badgers teams under BA or heck even under BB.
With the addition of Matt Rhule to Nebraska I don’t think it will be long before the Huskers are decent again. He can recruit and build strong offenses and say what you want about Nebraska but they have a legacy and tradition and if they win kids will want to go there. The Gophers have closed the gap with the Badgers even if PJ Fleck is an idiot. Iowa is as good if not better than Wisconsin at the moment. And for all of his warts, Bielema has Illinois headed in the right direction.
This is why I’m not sure Leonhard is the right guy for Wisconsin. The bar may not be a national championship, but it sure as shit isn’t 6-6. With their schedule this year 8 or 9 wins should have been a reasonable expectation even with Mertz. No Penn State or Michigan to deal with and obviously Michigan State was down. You got Washington State and Minnesota and Illinois at home. All Ls.
They best get it fixed or this is jump around in the future
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You must have forgotten you posted this after the Ohio State blowout: "There’s no shame in losing at Ohio State. But getting blown out and not even bothering to show up? Not acceptable. McIntosh should make the move and fire Chryst and promote JL immediately.
So there you have it. You wanted JL until now you don't want JL. With you somebody else is always better until they are not. It doesn't matter who. Brewers, Packers, Badgers, you can run them better and know esactly how to turn them around. I can't wait until the Bucks come back and bite you in the ass too.
fans are fickle?
Jimmy will be names HC, let the new season begin. Hope he is given a recruiting budget
@MichiganPacker posted:Mertz'd.
If that's the end of the Mertz era in Wisconsin, it's a fitting way to end it. Overthrowing a guy by 5 yards on 3rd and long after getting behind the chains because he couldn't complete a pass to wide open guy on first down.
Maybe his thumb is broken.
You would love that wouldn’t you ammo? Have a drink or a toke. SO ANGRY.
The Bucks won a championship in my lifetime and hopefully can get back there again and get another one or two. But hey, only a complete putz roots for a decent team to not win to all but if the shoe fits….
The Brewers and Packers could actually learn a lot from the Bucks but I’m not sure they will. Owners that spend money and go “all in.” A team that has good chemistry and no drama. A team where everyone knows their role.
The baseball team has a cheap owner that’s more interested in being an owner and spending $500K on memorabilia than spending even league average to field a winner. The Packers? They are just fat and happy being fat and happy. Complacency all over the place. But barring some change in leadership structure there’s no incentive to make the tough decisions and moves.
Not sure if the Badgers fit either of those descriptions other than they’ve just not done enough to win. Barry has his statue and for a lot of the fan base that’s OK. The problem is they’ve built this athletic machine and the department requires a lot of revenue to function. Football drives the majority of the revenue.
Getting butts in the seats, keeping donors happy and being able to recruit and sell hope is 90% of the job. Winning cures a lot of that and right now the football program is a bit of a mess. I honestly thought JL would instill a lot more confidence and stability and so far he has not. The team doesn’t look or play much different as they are still making bonehead mistakes and losing to teams they should be beating.
We all know your answer to everything is to have a drink. You've proved it many times on here.
And I'm not hoping for the Bucks to do bad. No team has a dynasty forever. They will eventually falter and you will again show your true self and be as critical of them as you are all the teams and programs.
lol good one ammo. There’s always gummies or joints to take the edge off.
I’ve followed the Bucks a long time and will continue to do so whether you do or care about it or not.
I also know a lot of people in this state don’t care about basketball or the Bucks or the NBA.
Such is life.
The Packers and Badgers have provided some awesome fan moments over the last 25 years. Hopefully there are more of those days in the future. Just a question of when that may happen.
@MichiganPacker posted:If they had a typical "good" Badger QB like Jack Coan (not a star, but someone that makes the easy throws and doesn't turn the ball over), the Badgers win against Washington State, MSU, Iowa, and Minnesota. That's a 10-2 record and everything else looks different.
Mertz is so frustrating because he'll make throws that are better than any other Badgers QB other than Russell Wilson (like a completion to Dike today rolling out and placing the ball on a line in a small window) but then sail balls over the head of wide open guys or fail to make an easy throw in the flat.
You are the best, you not only pronounce games over well before the end is near and put losses into the win column after the game. Well done. 👍