I’m not entirely sure why so many WVU fans believe they have to support a Head Coach no matter what. These guys make millions upon millions of dollars, bolt at the first chance for a bigger job, lie about their intentions, recruit kids promising to be there for them for at least 4 years and then forsake them as soon as a little more money becomes available. Yet we have a Coach that is below 500 at 7 and 8, lost 4 games in the 4th Quarter last year and already another one this year for 5 in 15 games. Most of those we didn’t just get beat, Neal Brown got smacked around and out coached. Being either tied, ahead or within one score and ending up losing terribly. At home against Iowa State we lost 38-14 after being tied at 14. At home against Texas we were down by 3 and ended up losing 42-31. At home against Oklahoma State we lost 20-13 after being ahead 13-10. At Baylor we lost by a FG despite hitting our own FG with 3 minutes left to tie the game. The only problem was we got a penalty and had to re-kick at 48-yards and missed. Then when we need a stop, only ONE stop, our play calling gets soft and we let Hubbard march down our throats and score on a 23-yard run after bottling him up all afternoon and forcing him to fumble twice. It was a terribly undisciplined performance by WVU all the way around with bad play calling and awful game management. I got on Neal Brown at the time but gave him a pass with the hopes of getting it turned around the next week against Baylor. Unfortunately, it was much of the same.
We had 12 penalties once again for one of the most undisciplined performances that I have EVER seen. Our offense was so bad that it was tough to watch. Every other play was a flag and when it wasn’t a flag, it was a 3-yard run, Doege throwing picks or fumbling. Doege was bad apart from the 1st drive of the game where he looked like Steve Young Jr. I had been calling for him to become more mobile in his play. He always stands in the pocket, can’t avoid pressure and flat out refuses to scramble. You have to be able to take off and get 1st downs in this day and age. This isn’t the 60s where you could have games that finished 6-3. With rules the way they are today that favor the offense, you have to move chains and put points up. Quarterbacks that don’t scramble are relics. They make the Coach have to call a perfect game which is obviously extremely difficult. With a scrambling QB, when plays inevitably break down, he can take off for those 6 yards and keep the drive alive. It’s absolutely necessary in today’s game. You don’t have to be Kyler Murray, look at Iowa States Brock Purdy, he is exactly what I’m speaking about. He takes off when no one is open and keeps the drive alive. Doege finally did that on the 1st drive this past week but for some reason stopped and reverted back to standing in the pocket, holding the ball too long and therefore causing turnovers. He not only fumbled twice but also threw 2 picks – trying to force passes that weren’t there instead of taking off and moving the chains. If Doege keeps refusing to scramble and keeps standing in the pocket like a statue and causing TOs – eventually we need to look into turning to our Future – Garrett Greene, who is extremely mobile.
Back to Coach Brown, that was two games in a row of looking like one of the most undisciplined teams in the nation. That is unacceptable. And I’m tired of Mountaineer fans excusing mediocrity. We did it for 8 years with Holgorsen and starting it all over again. I like Coach Brown, he seems like a really good guy that actually cares about the State, but that doesn’t give him a pass from bad coaching and he hasn’t shown ANYTHING yet except a penchant for undisciplined teams, terrible offenses and poor game management. Coach Brown is an Offensive coach and our offense was putrid last year and looks even worse this year, on top of that it is the coach’s duty to instill discipline and fundamentals. This has NOTHING to do with Wins or Losses. It’s how sloppy and undisciplined we look which is the HEAD COACHES job. I’ve never seen so many people happy with such a disgusting Win. Baylor was bad, very bad – they weren’t/aren’t even ranked and some fans were acting like we won the National Title.
It’s a good thing we have a bye this week because Coach has to get this mess cleaned up. If he doesn’t, we’ll get smoked by the teams that can put up points. Yes our D is great, but just like the Defenses under Dana, they didn’t stand a chance because they spent the entire game on the field. We either scored in 30 seconds or went 3 and out. Defenses cannot maintain excellence if they’re on the field all day and exhausted. You have to extend drives give them rests. Most of this is Déjà vu, we played terribly two weeks in a row. Maybe Coach can get the offense fixed with the bye, I hope so. But if not and we continue playing so sloppy and undisciplined, it’s not a sin to call the Multi-Millionaire Coach out for not doing his job.
