Comments

‘And for those who think that Coach Lobotzke needs to go, Coach Grobe would no sooner fire him than he would divorce his wife.  So as long as Coach Grobe is around Coach Lobotzke will be the offensive coordinator.” If Matt’s comment is correct I hope Grobe gets an offer he can’t refuse soon. No Wake is not a football factory, but yes, we have been spoiled by success.It’s no accident the Deac’s are less successful in the second half of the season. It’s called coaching adjustments. Good coaches make them. Coaches trying not to lose don’t, or don’t know how!

Dismayed Deac on 11/09/2011 (6:09 pm)

Lee,
Let me clarify I was not saying I would not the support the team if we didn’t go to a bowl game. They were 2 separate comments (financial supports vs hope we can get to a bowl game). I will watch every game I can and go to games when I have the opportunity. But let me ask you:

What do you think will get the coaches to change their schemes? Losing? Of course not, or things would have changed already!

The trends have been the same for the last 10 years. Putting 2006 aside, we keep games close but we lose. For example, in 2005 6 of our 7 losses came by an average of 6 points, including a double OT loss to Clemson.

It’s giving up a big play, or giving up a crucial first down, or bad defensive schemes, or lack of adjustments, or bad clock management, or bad play calling, or stupid penalties. Sometimes it’s the players, more often it seems like the coaches. What’s the solution? Are we supposed to be content with the same old results, year after year?

I enjoy having Jim Grobe as our head coach. He’s respectful and respectable. It’s great to say that as a leader of young men he is our head coach. I don’t want him to be fired. He’s a great face for the program and even though we lose too many winnable games at least they are generally fun to watch and are on TV now for those of us not in NC. But when the same things happen game after game, season after season, how do we expect to change for the better? I don’t have the answers but I’d like to start fresh with a new offensive coordinator because there are better options out there. Our offense has been the same for too long with not enough success. If Grobe can’t fire him that’s sad.

There are lots of Wake fans like myself who love supporting their team and who love watching their teams be competitive and being in close games. But with the rejuvenation in the program and the 2 bowl games in 06-07 it’s not about being competitive anymore (especially as the ACC seems weaker and weaker on the national stage). People know about Wake Forest. The young alumni have gone to Wake and seen athletic success in a variety of sports. As a football program, we can win these games. And I will be cheering at the TV this weekend in hopes that we can stay close for a few hours and maybe even pull one out.

Thanks Dan for allowing the fans to at least express themselves, if to no other end than to each other.

DP on 11/09/2011 (12:08 pm)

Dan,

Thanks for asking the question…kudos to you and much appreciated…has created a lot of dialogue, so apparently it’s top of mind with a lot of your readers.

I think everyone understands the need to have some ability to run the ball.  The issue is that we are so predictable with our run formations…and, the times that we choose to run are sometimes perplexing at best.  More use of play action passing would help both and require less protection for the QB.

Let’s hope for more creativity and a good game this weekend at Clemson.

Wake Fan on 11/09/2011 (10:42 am)

Dan - I’ve got to agree with Dano about the O-line.  Wake has not had much of an offensive line for years now.  Riley Skinner only had as much success as he did because he was something of an escape artist and because he had an uncanny sense about when to unload the ball when the pocket was collapsing and he had no place to go.  (Hopefully Tanner will learn that more and more as the bad sack he took near the end of the Notre Dame game not only kept them from being inside the ten for the next play but ultimately cost them a field goal when they kept going backwards after that.)  This is the largest offensive line that Wake has ever had, and a lot was made of that when the season started.  But with all of their size and experience, they do not pass protect well or run block well.  They’re slow, and they practice against an undersized defensive line.  So Tanner and the running backs have no chance against a big, fast defensive line like they faced against Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Notre Dame.  By now other teams have figured out Wake’s successful offensive schemes from earlier in the year and are blitzing with great success because the O-line cannot stop them.  Coach Grobe inherited some talented offensive linemen from Jim Caldwell but has not been able to bring in good O-linemen on his own in several years.  That trend needs to change.  And for those who think that Coach Lobotzke needs to go, Coach Grobe would no sooner fire him than he would divorce his wife.  So as long as Coach Grobe is around Coach Lobotzke will be the offensive coordinator.  Clemson is a 16.5-point favorite this week (as they should be).  So the Deacs will have to get bowl elligible against Maryland and/or Vanderbilt.  And this is not the Vanderbilt of old - a win over the Commodores this year would be a big accomplishment.  So the post-season future of this team is still very much up in the air even though they were 5-2 at one juncture.

Matt on 11/09/2011 (10:07 am)

I’d also like to see a more aggressive pass defense. We should be coming with 4 on every down.

The 3-4 is a great rush 4 defense because the speed rusher (LB) can come from anywhere out of a base formation without compromising the pass coverage.

Rushing 3, dropping 8 is a form of prevent defense that has never done anything except allow for great comebacks. The purpose of prevent defenses is not to “prevent” the opponent from scoring, it is to prevent the opponent from scoring “quickly”.

We have to be more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball.

JoeyD on 11/09/2011 (9:49 am)

I’m amazed at some of the negative reaction regarding Grobe.  Certainly, there is reason to suspect the play calling of Lobo.  However, does anyone out there really think WF could do better in a head coach?  Yes, he gets paid a lot, but that was the price to keep him here.  I shudder to think where we would be if he had left.  Let’s really examine the issues:  The OL was supposed to be our strength, but it doesn’t do a great job of pass protection or run blocking.  These were not 4 and 5 star kids when recruited here.  Our depth on the OL has never been great.  Remember, good OL are a premium and the best select the “big name” programs.  Ours are probably close to maximizing their abilities.  Passing all the time?  No one except Mike Leach at TT had an offense that could do that and it was specifically built for that.  He won, but not against the big power teams like OK and TEX. and never won the conference.  We’ve got good backs. Our OL has got to open lanes for them.  Not every running play starts with a handoff 9 yds. back. We’ve been stuffed on a quick snap to the fullback.  Okay, I know, just another opinionated Wake fan.  However, I simply don’t like “threats” in regard to withholding support, etc. toward Grobe.  I do wish we had another OC instead of Lobo, but, like marrying a women who has a child from a first marriage, you take the whole package, you can’t pick and choose.

Jim on 11/09/2011 (9:47 am)

I don’t mind running plays. I understand the need and the concept.

What I’d like to see are more 4 wide and bunch sets. They tend to open up the running game by forcing defenses to go into nickel coverage or putting linebackers into coverage against receivers. At the very least it gets defenses away from 7 or 8 men in the box stack defenses and creates space to run in.

If the strength of our offense is our QB and our WRs and our weakness is our lack of depth at TB, then we should see some benefit by getting more WRs on the field.

Watch the Boise Sts, Oregons, TCUs, and KStates of the world. They can and do run the ball effectively but it’s almost always from some spread formation.

JoeyD on 11/09/2011 (9:40 am)

Dan: every Wake fan has the power of opinion.  It’s a positive thing that, while some opinions are more than a little negative, the positive part of that is the fans care.  It really bothers me, however, that a few fans start linking their financial support to bowl- game invitations.  They don’t want to coach the team themselves; they just want the good coaching to result in more games won. Even I am beginning to think Coach Lobo is much too predictable and, perhaps, too conservative for the team he puts on the field.  Jim Grobe is, without doubt, a bright and capable head man.  Maybe we’ll see more creativity these final three games.  Anyway, all who are making (even negative) comments care a lot about WFU.  Basketball?  While unable to catch a football game this year, we will attend several Deacs basketball games.  We just moved from Montana to the Nashville area for several months, and look forward to cheering for Bzdelik and his young troops.  Go, Deacs!

Lee Anglin on 11/09/2011 (1:47 am)

The frustration with Grobe’s comments are that they run at the wrong times and don’t make adjustments.  Notre Dame clearly made adjustments for the 2nd half and the Deacons did not.  Why did Grobe/Lobo continue trying to run so much when passes over the middle, short and long, were working?  Keep passing and throw in the occasional run.

TF89 on 11/08/2011 (9:50 pm)

I see that other interested fans are questioningGrobe/Lobo play calling too.  It was also loudly mentioned by the TV announcers.  Maybe we are correct! Wellman should read the feedback and make some good decisions for Wake.  There is nobody that can’t be replaced.  Excuses don’t solve ongoing problems.

jack mac donald on 11/08/2011 (8:04 pm)

Here is the problem with that response…Even when when our opposing defenses are rushing only 3, Tanner is still under pressure and has no time to find anyone.  When they rush 4 it’s worse.  Several of our lineman are having a lot of difficulty pass blocking, as pointed out by the commentators from the Notre Dame game.  Specifically, the color man mentioned Doug Weaver as constantly getting beat.  This was ironic, as I attended one of the first scrimmages this season at BB&T field.  After one drive that led to a score, the offense came off and I was watching the boys take off their helmets as they walked off the field, and one I was looking at one player and he said real loud, “Toooo easy”.  I looked at his number and looked at the roster we had been given, and it was Doug Weaver.  I thought to myself then, you haven’t even played anybody yet, how can you say that type of thing.  I wonder how he feels now?

Give Tanner some protection and I bet he could find someone or if not, let him run.

dano on 11/08/2011 (6:44 pm)

Dan thanks for asking the question. Running plays for no gain happen for every team and Grobe’s comments make sense. But, the frustration seems to be the timing of the runs and the actual plays that are called. We’re not Texas Tech with huge linemen to just be a throw around offense, but at the same time the Lobo tradition seems to be avoid what works at all costs and run what you know doesn’t work.

Or in the case of trick plays run them until they get stale.

I genuinely feel sorry for our RBs knowing the play calling is going to get them nowhere even if they have great speed and are amazing athletes. Instead of being unpredictable and keeping the opposing defense on their toes we seem to run the wrong plays at the wrong times. That’s coaching. Can’t expect to gain yards when the handoff is 8 yards deep and the defense is already collapsing on the RB and QB. Nothing wrong with a good running game here but the decision making and play calling is atrocious.

Maybe sometime soon the money will start to dry up and Wellman and the coaches will HAVE to be responsible for their actions and losing too many winnable games.

I know I’m a spoiled fan but after so many wins within our grasp and then not getting them eventually something needs to change or the fans would just rather stay home.

Let’s at least make a bowl game!

DP on 11/08/2011 (6:05 pm)

Coach Grobe’s salary is in the top ten in the nation. He is number 1 or 2 in the ACC and I feel for all the money he’s getting we Wake fans and financial supporters should be getting more bang for the buck. I’d like to see him coach a game planning to win instead of trying not to lose.

av8r on 11/08/2011 (5:30 pm)

“The biggest issue that we’ve got with the teams we’re playing against is that if you don’t run it once in awhile—just as a throwaway run—you cannot protect,” Grobe said.

He better tell a lot of the Wake fans around where I sit or on the boards this theory. In other words, not every play - run or pass - is designed “to go all the way.” They absolutely go bonkers when Lobo/Grobe calls a run on 2nd and long or on 1st and 10. I think I get it; most do not.

Dick H on 11/08/2011 (4:24 pm)