Where are the Ford doubters at?

[windbane]

it sure doesn't hurt having Huners back-- and Walker. Not sure what happened to Dile-- maybe they gave him the rest of the game off to keep him healthy at one point.

THe line is almost back to normal.

All this rhetoric about how things have changed so much is pretty silly. I still see the same basic team and game plan out there-- the difference? Turnovers are down yet again.

The way I see it is simple-- Leavitt has always tried to exploit the weakest area of the other team. I remember years ago going into a game after throwing for a ton of yards the week before that we just kept running and running (I think it was Utah State--- someone not great but also not terrible for us at the time either). It worked very well--- we used ball control all game, ground out a nice lead and sat on it. Not exactly the most entertaining game ever and people complained that we weren't doing/using what we were best at etc etc. At some point-- you have to overlook the means to the end and say hey-- we won. Good job.

Now in those three games we lost-- we would have won going away had we not coughed up the ball and had the problems that the other teams exploited. That and a lot of trick plays from their side were the difference.

if yu want to ignore that and blame this solely on coaches not using the right player at the rght time- be my guest.

I have never doubted anyone on this team although Alvarado sometimes concerns me on the road. Call me a kiss-ass to the coaching staff if you want-- whatever. I know what I see out there. I can look past some missed opportunities and mistakes and see the light at the end of the tunnel. THis team is capable of quite a bit. But like anyone else-- it is susceptable to errors and bad luck. You can try but coaching those away is not exactly easy.

Ford will be a stud for us for many years to come-- but I would rather we develop all these interesting backs than put all our eggs in one basket. Sure-- give Ford the ball a bunch of times if that fits the gameplan. Don't freak out if the coaches have a different idea of how to best attack an opponent though.

Ok, kiss ass, you can continue to say the coaches made all the right moves, but most people can see Ford is our best back to go to consistently.  I am glad that Samuels has gotten more time lately, B-Will has been great at times (especially blocking), and Taylor has lots of potential, but Ford needed more carries in those 3 losses.  A lot of things went wrong for us to lose all 3 games, but that was one of them imo. 

Regardless, I think the coaches have it right now.  You are right that the OL is coming back and that's great news.  Hopefully everyone will continue to look better because of it.

[MikeG]

alot of things went wrong and we still lost by 3, 7, and 5 points.

that's one or two turnovers

which is exactly what I said

Ford not being in there doesn't take away the turnovers necessarily. You just are campaigning for more playing time for him-- and I think he will get it. Did he need it during those games? I'm sure anyone can second guess the coaching staff on any change making the difference. But to say that single change alone means we win the game is an incredible assumption. It ignores the fact thatwe were down considerably in the Cinci game--- which forced us to pass. It ignores that Ford himself got banged up during the game (rib injury) which may have impacted his time in both practice and the game. It ignores the health of our line or the strengths of the other team we are playing (Syracuse has lousy run defense-- look what we did there). It ignores alot of things that don't fit neatly into your argument and your personal preferences. Look-- he's got a lot of talent, no question about it. But he is not god's gift to football. He can't change a game simply by forcing him to run until he hits his groove. He could one day be the Ray Rice or Andre Hall of the Bulls. But even those guys had to adjust to college ball. In other words-- he is not instant success. He has had some-- but he has also had some failure so far. We have lots of weapons-- why put it all on his back? Why not use the guy with fresh legs or a style that works against one team versus another? Are you watching game tape from the other team and designing an offensive game plan? I seriously doubt it. You see some simplistic viewpoint of why we should do something and you stump that point without end.

You're entitled to the opinion. I'm entitled to tell you to stop calling me a kiss-ass and just put me on ignore from now on if you don't like what I have to say.

[Rocky Style]

Ford is pimpalicious. 

Seriously though, I am glad they are using him again.

[Orlando Bull]

In the three losses...

Rutgers beat us with trick plays, running over our D, and a couple of bad calls. Maybe Ford could have helped, but who knows.

In the UConn game, we would have all liked to see him on the goal line when we had 2nd and goal from the 2. He would have scored on the play Plancher ran (likely). But, he was in the hospital making sure he didn't have a broken rib/punctured lung.

I think he was hurt for the Cincy game, he had some carries in the 2nd half, but I don't believe he was 100%.

I have been one of the advocates for getting him on the field, I think it opens up our offense a lot, but of the three we lost, he could possibly helped in one or 2, but that wasn't the only reason we lost those games.

I think if he starts running like this on a weekly basis, we are going to see a whole new Matt Grothe. Receivers are going to get more open, and his running lanes are going to get twice as wide. This offense is going to be tremendous if Ford can continue to carry the load, and rip off 120+/game.

[Rocky Style]

In the three losses...

Rutgers beat us with trick plays, running over our D, and a couple of bad calls. Maybe Ford could have helped, but who knows.

That's a matter of opinion.  To me the evidence was there but other people see it differently and I think their opinion is just as valid.  Either way, the games are still lost so there is no point worrying about it now.  The good news is that our offense is doing some great things right now and is heading in the right direction.

[windbane]

alot of things went wrong and we still lost by 3, 7, and 5 points.

that's one or two turnovers

which is exactly what I said

Ford not being in there doesn't take away the turnovers necessarily. You just are campaigning for more playing time for him-- and I think he will get it. Did he need it during those games? I'm sure anyone can second guess the coaching staff on any change making the difference. But to say that single change alone means we win the game is an incredible assumption. It ignores the fact thatwe were down considerably in the Cinci game--- which forced us to pass. It ignores that Ford himself got banged up during the game (rib injury) which may have impacted his time in both practice and the game. It ignores the health of our line or the strengths of the other team we are playing (Syracuse has lousy run defense-- look what we did there). It ignores alot of things that don't fit neatly into your argument and your personal preferences. Look-- he's got a lot of talent, no question about it. But he is not god's gift to football. He can't change a game simply by forcing him to run until he hits his groove. He could one day be the Ray Rice or Andre Hall of the Bulls. But even those guys had to adjust to college ball. In other words-- he is not instant success. He has had some-- but he has also had some failure so far. We have lots of weapons-- why put it all on his back? Why not use the guy with fresh legs or a style that works against one team versus another? Are you watching game tape from the other team and designing an offensive game plan? I seriously doubt it. You see some simplistic viewpoint of why we should do something and you stump that point without end.

You're entitled to the opinion. I'm entitled to tell you to stop calling me a kiss-ass and just put me on ignore from now on if you don't like what I have to say.

You told me to call you a kiss ass.  I think giving Ford the ball more against Rutgers and UConn could definitely have made the difference.  Only losing by a few points means a lot of things could have made that difference.  Giving the ball to your best RB is one of them.  Ford could have played more in the first half of Cincy, too.  We didn't abandon the run just because Cincy got up more.  We still ran Grothe as always.  I guess when watching film they determined Auburn was the only one with a weak rushing offense if we used Ford?  That seems odd.  It seems you think the coaches are infallible.  I think overall we're doing a great job on offense...the last 2 games...and against UCF...and much of the other games.  We're scoring more points.  I look forward to seeing Ford consistently getting the ball as he has the last 2 games.

[Chaddcl0ps]

Mike Ford for heismen 2010-2011

[Skingraft]

I was a huge doubter of the OC Gregory....he has really stepped it up and has really made a believer out of me.....I look forward to the future

[WWMJD]

NO ONE doubted Ford had the potential to be a great back, he just needed TIME.  He has been learning as he goes and has obviously stepped up his game in the last couple weeks.

You think anyone is pissed about this?  Hell no.  Everyone wanted to see him do well.

But if you think this is SOLELY a matter of personnel, you do not know football.  Anyone can plainly see the way we have run our offense in the last two weeks has been vastly different than the weeks before.

Hopefully Ford and our offense can keep it going when we eventually play a real defense (remember, Syracuse had one of the worst rushing defenses in the country and LVille isn't that much better).

GO BULLS

i suppose auburn isn't a real defense.

His game vs. Auburn and his last two games were completely different.  He looked average and out of shape vs. Auburn.  If you can't see that he has played 100% better than that the past two games, you are a lost cause.  You act as if there are those who wanted to see Ford fail?

[TheBullies]

I like Orlando Bull's signature... "Win with class"

Perhaps we need one for the board... How about "post with class"?

:-\