looking at this season is akin to looking down from a helicopter at sandy's destruction of the new jersey shore.
--the first losing season in eons. i recall amid the "move up" controversy the howls against it on the argument we might have a losing record, and if so the stadium would empty out, the dynasty would be over. so now we have our dreaded losing season...against the same teams we beat like a drum for thirty years.
--the incredible last minute collapse against eastern washington, the total second-half meltdown against northern arizona in our homecoming game, and the curious failure to do anything to change up the second half offense against the bobcats. when the most knowledgeable poster and outsized griz fan on this board, plus a writer for the missoulian, criticizes this coaching staff for its consistent failure to make second half adjustments, one has to pay attention.
--the absolutely mystifying personnel decisions throughout the season. trent mckinney is the second coming of denarius mcghee, but then he's gone, replaced mid-season by smithwick-hann, the last guy anybody on this board would have predicted pre-season would be our starter against the bobcats. so right away there's one terrible decision: either starting mckinney, or switching away from him. kemp disappears, then reappears. we blow off joey counts's redshirt year--for what? baffling. just baffling
many years ago i read about a writer, a very good one, the author of several books, whose currency was not money but experiences that he could write about. one of those experiences was working for a rancher in montana. looking back on that experience, the writer realized he'd stayed way too long at the ranch. why? because he liked the rancher. the guy was smart, and he and the writer had many long philosophical discussions. summing up the experience, the writer said, "i think i was a prisoner of kindness."
so with our situation with griz football. we all like mick delaney. he's a butte guy, a montanan through and through, a true western gentleman. like george bush, he's the kind of guy you'd like to sit down with and have a beer. but at some point, somebody in this administration is going to have to make a tough decision. do we want to be a prisoner of the affection we feel for delaney? or do we want a dynamic young coach such as the one that now presides over the men's basketball team at dahlberg, one that can seize back control of the cadillac and get it back in the fast lane.
finally: do we have a caretaker of the football program? or an undertaker.
--the first losing season in eons. i recall amid the "move up" controversy the howls against it on the argument we might have a losing record, and if so the stadium would empty out, the dynasty would be over. so now we have our dreaded losing season...against the same teams we beat like a drum for thirty years.
--the incredible last minute collapse against eastern washington, the total second-half meltdown against northern arizona in our homecoming game, and the curious failure to do anything to change up the second half offense against the bobcats. when the most knowledgeable poster and outsized griz fan on this board, plus a writer for the missoulian, criticizes this coaching staff for its consistent failure to make second half adjustments, one has to pay attention.
--the absolutely mystifying personnel decisions throughout the season. trent mckinney is the second coming of denarius mcghee, but then he's gone, replaced mid-season by smithwick-hann, the last guy anybody on this board would have predicted pre-season would be our starter against the bobcats. so right away there's one terrible decision: either starting mckinney, or switching away from him. kemp disappears, then reappears. we blow off joey counts's redshirt year--for what? baffling. just baffling
many years ago i read about a writer, a very good one, the author of several books, whose currency was not money but experiences that he could write about. one of those experiences was working for a rancher in montana. looking back on that experience, the writer realized he'd stayed way too long at the ranch. why? because he liked the rancher. the guy was smart, and he and the writer had many long philosophical discussions. summing up the experience, the writer said, "i think i was a prisoner of kindness."
so with our situation with griz football. we all like mick delaney. he's a butte guy, a montanan through and through, a true western gentleman. like george bush, he's the kind of guy you'd like to sit down with and have a beer. but at some point, somebody in this administration is going to have to make a tough decision. do we want to be a prisoner of the affection we feel for delaney? or do we want a dynamic young coach such as the one that now presides over the men's basketball team at dahlberg, one that can seize back control of the cadillac and get it back in the fast lane.
finally: do we have a caretaker of the football program? or an undertaker.
