Barry Alvarez blows the big game

In the lead up to this game there was talk that this was a no lose situation for Barry Alvarez. If he wins the game, it would have been because of him. If he loses, it was because of the situation Bret put him in. I even agreed with this philosophy thinking it was true, but there was a third option that I had not even considered, Barry losses that game because of Barry.

In the lead up to the game was how Stanford was going to stop the running game, A.K.A Montee Ball. Really this has the been the talk for the last three Rose Bowls and when the running game is all you have, that puts you in a tough position. Barry failed to correct the issue that plagued the Badgers in the previous two Rose Bowls, no down field passing, stop the passing game, create turnovers, and come up with the clutch 3rd down stop.

Another issue was with the personal coming into the game. Curt Phillips was declared the started coming into the game, with which I had no issue with since he was the one who got you to the game, but it was clearly evident after the second drive that he was not going to be QB to win the game for you. I know he led the Badgers to two scoring drives, but that is who Curt Phillips is, someone who will get you down the field a couple of times, but is not consistent enough nor has the arm strength to open up the defense like someone Stave could.

Curt Phillips success and failure came at the hand of the running game and not by his arm plus some lucky bowl sanctions to Penn State and Ohio State. When Stave was the starter, his wins and losses included some use of the passing game in conjunction with the running game. In Phillips games we won because of the run verses Indiana and Nebraska, and lost verses Ohio State and Penn State because in OT we are incapable of passing the ball. For Barry it must have been difficult to prepare an offense for a QB who can not throw the ball more than 10-15 yards down the field.

During the game, the Badgers did use Stave and he was spot on with this one and only throw which just happened to be dropped the receiver. What was reward for that one perfect throw? A one way trip to the bench for the rest of the game. Stave brings the balance attack and the ability to pass the ball down the field, but Barry failed to see this or understand who should really be running the offense.

Some people might say that Stave was not cleared until the week before the game and he did not have a enough time to prepare for the game nor could the game plan be planned with him playing. I think that is hogwash. Stave was able to guide the team through multiple games mid-season without much issue with his balanced attack and he was not even an option or thought in the mind of Badgers fans or Bielema.

In the end, this game, this loss was not because of Bielema, this loss was a product of not knowing your personal, not know the history of your personal, not know when to make the needed changes to pull out the victory. The entire second half, Stanford played 9 men in the box which would have been resolved by running an double move with an out and up with Stave. This game truly showed that the game has passed Barry by and when he retired, it was the correct time. No longer can we run the ball through the defense like in the 90's, we need a passing game along with a QB who can run the read option.

Hopefully Gary Anderson is able to correct the mistakes that Bielema left on the program and the issues that might have been created from the one game Barry. Anderson's job fixing the football program will be like trying to clean up a 27 car pile up, it will not be easy. When people say Wisconsin, they think run, run and more run. Hopefully Anderson can turn this program around and teach the program how to win the big close games which have been lacking the last seven years in this program.

 As odd is it to say, this loss is not on Bielema. This loss is on Barry.

Mike Eaves and the no change offense

Today I would like to talk about another sore spot with Badgers athletics... The men's hockey program in particular Mike Eaves who was hired back in 2002. Now I understand that this guy who a National Championship back in 2005, but these were with players that were recruited or who could have had previous contact with Jeff Sauer.

This years struggles is of no surprise to me as Eaves has not changed the offensive scheme since being hired as the Badgers head coach. No team is surprised by the style the Badgers play and it has become easier and easier to beat the Badgers. We are not longer competitive against North Dakota, Colorado College, or Denver, we can't even beat Northern Michigan.

The power play strategy is laughable and makes you want to change the channel. In any given power play, you can expect a minute thirty of the two minutes spent trying to move the puck into the offensive zone by dumping the puck along the board only to have the penalty killing team just flip the puck back out. We only get one, maybe two chances to score and it has to change. Based on how the rest of the offense works, I call this the "Mike Eaves and the no change offense" for the past couple of years.

Now I understand that coaches can not win all the time, but if the other team knows how you will play them, you can never win. If Eaves can not change it up and start winning he will join Bielema on my coaches to go list.

Time to Fire Bret Bielema

This weeks loss to Michigan State sums up what I have been thinking for a long time. We can not progress with Bret Bielema as the Head Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. He is incapable is making decisions for the team to win in close games and allows to be out coached or out coaches himself.

Many people say on other blogs or comments "But Bielema has a winning record and has taken the Badgers to two Rose Bowls, that's all you should need to see Bielema is our coach". I have come to the conclusion that he has won up to this point for two reasons. 1) He won with players from the Barry Alvarez era. 2) They still won despite his poor choices. Examples of the second reason would be:

• Cal Poly (Missed Cal Poly Extra Point)
• Arizona State (Blocked Extra Point)
• Northern Iowa (Ran out of time)
• Utah State (Missing Chip Shot FG)
• 2010 at Iowa (Iowa player stays inbounds not giving FG kicker a chance to win)
• 2007 at UNLV (Donovan with a great QB run at the end of game to win) 
• Big 10 Championship Game vs Michigan State (Roughing the Kicker penalty wipes out long return)

There are many other games that we have lost that should have been wins due to poor choices. The Michigan State game (or should I says all the previous Michigan State games) are proof Bielema is taking the Football program to a place we have not seen since before Alverez, in the before time, in the long long ago, when we were consistently at the bottom of the Big Ten. This drop to the bottom is not going to be a quick one.

With Bielema, we will slowly drop down the standings over a span of 5-7 years until we are at the same level with the likes of Indiana. Then we will replace Bielema, but the damage will have been done and will take another 20-30 years to reappear as a relevant team especially with the likes of Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State paying signing, in the Big Ten, the bigger names in the country.

My logic behind this impending doom is the slow degradation of incoming talent that will (or in this case will not) play for Bielema. For example, lets look at the QB position starting with when Bielema first took over:

1. John Stocco - Very good QB, was able to run the offence and was a left over from the Alvarez era
2. Tyler Donovan - Also a good QB, backup to Stocco, but was able to run the offense and could run a little faster. Also left over from the Alvarez recruiting class.
3. Dustin Sherer/Allan Evridge - This is where the wheels starting falling off the bus. Both QB's not especially accurate with a slight edge to Evridge to run the offence, but when you have PJ Hill running the ball the way he did, who needs a good pass game?
4. Scott Tolzin - A slightly better passer than Dustin or Allen but not to the level of Stocco or Donovan. He did what he needed to do since the running game was once again dominate.
5. Russell Wilson - A lucky Free Agent pickup, very good passer and runner, but should not really count since Bielema did not recruit him from High School. He just got lucky he could not hit a baseball and NC State did not want him back.
6. Joe Brennan - In limited action, Brennan on every play looked like someone who just witnessed a large car crash and was still in shock. By just watching, you knew he was not going to improve. I don't know what Bielema saw on the recruiting tape, he must have been watching it with his eyes closed.
7. Danny O'Brien - Another Free Agent signing. For everything that was right about Wilson was wrong about O'Brien. Frankly I don't know what Bielema was thinking with this signing. This guy last year was 2-10 at Maryland with 7 TD's and 10 INT's. This guy appears to think the right decision then, 5 seconds later, decides to execute the decision , but by then it is too late. Once again Bielema must have watched the tapes with his eyes closed
8. Joel Stave - I'm giving this one an incomplete due to the limited playing time and the play sabotage by Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada. There is hope, but I want to see how he plays next year.

With the exception of #5 on the list if you look at the list from the top to the bottom, the talent level generally got worse and worse, a sign to Bielema is taking the program in the wrong direction. This lack of recruiting is seen heavily at WR, TE and somewhat at DE, CB, K, P. No division one program should struggle at Kicker or Punter.

To avoid this program being sunk to the bottom, the only right thing to do is to find a new coach to replace Bielema before it is too late.