"You're playing, and you think everything's going fine, but then one thing goes wrong ... and another ... and another ... and you try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink ... until you can't move ... you can't breathe ... because you're in over your head. Like quicksand"



That's one of my favorite movie quotes about football. It also perfectly encapsulated the game today.

These are KIDS playing the game. They are far more susceptable to quicksand than professional athletes. And it is the coaches job to pull them out of it. ESPECIALLY at the collegiate level. It is the coaches job to ride the highs and use momentum in your favor, and it is the coaches job to stop the momentum and shift it when it goes bad.

Wilcox cannot do either of these things. He doesn't seem to understand emotion, or momentum, or how to use the emotional state of collegiate athletes in his favor. He always hides from it. Squashing the highs because he doesn't know how to control them...but completely unable to avoid the lows.

Tedford also had similar issues which ultimately lead to his downfall.

Hate to bump my own post....but JKS fell into quicksand again. After the second interception that was negated by the offsides call he got the yips. He was holding the ball a second too long. He was afraid to throw deep. On screens he was throwing at receivers feet.

He had lost all confidence. At that point it is the job of the coaching staff to pull him out and help him. Play calling can do a lot to help a player sinking in quicksand but we didn't get any quick slants or simple pitch and catch. We just let JKS flounder.

From then on all we could do was sit and hope duke would hand the momentum back to us. A pic6 or a defensive breakdown leading to a big score, but it never came.

This is Wilcox's biggest sin to me. He cannot handle momentum. He doesn't know how to shift the tide when it's going against him. He doesn't know how to pull his players or his team out of the quicksand. He just sits and watches them sink.

To make matters worse, when momentum is going in our favor and we are getting all the breaks he doesn't know how to capitalize on that either...letting the momentum and swagger slip away and letting the other team seize it.

If he hasn't figured out these are emotional kids that will ride momentum shifts yet he is never going to. Its time to go after a new head coach. I'd love to see an emotional coach brought in who knows how to install confidence in his players. More of a Dan Campbell guy than an X's and O's guy.

MrGPAC said:

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Hate to bump my own post....but JKS fell into quicksand again. After the second interception that was negated by the offsides call he got the yips. He was holding the ball a second too long. He was afraid to throw deep. On screens he was throwing at receivers feet.

He had lost all confidence. At that point it is the job of the coaching staff to pull him out and help him. Play calling can do a lot to help a player sinking in quicksand but we didn't get any quick slants or simple pitch and catch. We just let JKS flounder.

From then on all we could do was sit and hope duke would hand the momentum back to us. A pic6 or a defensive breakdown leading to a big score, but it never came.

This is Wilcox's biggest sin to me. He cannot handle momentum. He doesn't know how to shift the tide when it's going against him. He doesn't know how to pull his players or his team out of the quicksand. He just sits and watches them sink.

To make matters worse, when momentum is going in our favor and we are getting all the breaks he doesn't know how to capitalize on that either...letting the momentum and swagger slip away and letting the other team seize it.

If he hasn't figured out these are emotional kids that will ride momentum shifts yet he is never going to. Its time to go after a new head coach. I'd love to see an emotional coach brought in who knows how to install confidence in his players. More of a Dan Campbell guy than an X's and O's guy.

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Worth another bump +

Not for nothing, but it's hard for a QB to get going when your opponent is getting a pass rush with two rushers, momentum notwithstanding.