From Orange Bowl to Chuck E. Cheese?
Jim Grobe stands accused. Andy of the Peanut Gallery, among others, has charged with Grobe throwing his players under a bus, which I take to be a colorful if somewhat graphic way of saying Grobe is blaming the players that play for him for the Deacons’ recent downturn in fortunes.
Personally I don’t see it.
What can’t be denied is that Grobe’s theme of the spring has been dependability. He hasn’t seen enough of it the last two years, which he feels is a big reason the Deacons have gone 5-7 and 3-9. And he has wondered out loud more than once if the problem is just a product of the times in which we live.
“Last season doesn’t cut it,” Grobe said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “It’s not like we have a season like we had last year, we can’t all get together at Chuck E. Cheese and hand out trophies. At this level, it just doesn’t happen and our guys have to understand it. If you don’t practice, it’s going to be hard for us to be a good football team. We have to have durable and dependable guys.”
Andy’s opinion, which I welcome and respect, would carry more weight if Grobe were calling players out by name for public criticism if not scorn. He’s not. He’s saying that generally the makeup of the team has gotten softer over the past couple of years, and unless the trend is reversed, then he and Andy, the media, the players and all those who care for Wake Forest might as well brace for another disaster like last season.
I would also be more inclined toward Andy’s point of view if I hadn’t heard Grobe say countless times that when the team isn’t playing well, it’s up to him and his coaches to do a better job. Everybody is accountable, players and coaches. Grobe doesn’t dodge responsibility. Never has and, knowing him, never will.
But my own opinion is that the biggest hole in the contention that Grobe is throwing his team under the bus is that it presupposes there are two camps set up against each other, the coaches on one side and the players on the other. But a team is not monolithic, nor, for that matter is a coaching staff. There actually may be assistants on the staff who disapprove, at least privately, of Grobe voicing any criticism of his players—although given the makeup of the staff and the assistants’ relationship with Grobe I doubt would be the case. A much more likely possibility is that there are players on the team showing up every day to practice with bumps and bruises who may not be overjoyed with teammates who are not. But they know they’re all in it together, and come fall they’ll either win or lose together.
And if they lose, the critics will have another charge to level at Grobe.
His team’s too soft.
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 04/04/2011 (5:42 pm)
Comments
I think Dan is right on this one about the Football team. Offense was too inconsistent and the Defense got beat up really bad! We were averaging 29.6 Points per Game between the Prebyterian Game first; all the way to the Navy Game on Homecoming! After that we averaged 15.8 Points per game scoring 21 at Virginia Tech then 14 versus Maryland, 13 against Boston College, 3 against N.C. State, 10 Clemson and a paltry 34 versus Vanderbilt! Offense has got to be more consistent especially in the red zone this season! Defense has got to be quicker off the ball, and it would help if we could possibly get pressure on the quarterback so our secondary is left hung out to dry on pass plays! And, when leading late in Football games like 17-6 or 27-21 hint hint, Georgia Tech and Navy we actually win those games rather then them lose them!
Robert Sharpe on 04/14/2011 (9:03 pm)
Wake Forest should’ve really won 9 games overall in 2009. Should have beaten Georgia Tech in Overtime, should’ve beat Miami, Navy, Boston College, and Baylor but didn’t. That was a tough season because Wake Forest just couldn’t finish in tight games down the stretch! Last season the two games that got Wake Forest were once again the Georgia Tech Game and the Navy game! If Wake could’ve won those two games mid way through the year the season might of been different but as they say should’ve, could’ve, would’ve just doesn’t cut it in the ACC and if things had happened diffrently in those two games I believe we would be looking at a much diffrent picture heading into 2011 then in 2010, but that’s just the way it is! When things go wrong, as they have for Wake the last two years we find someone to blame or point fingers at. Grobe and his staff certainly came under fire after last season’s 3-9 finish and the seasons before 5-7 finish in 2009. It won’t get any better in 2011, we are still young, we have some new coaches and a schedule as brutal as any in the ACC with Virginia Tech, UNC in the Coastal, and then Maryland, N.C. State, and Florida State in our divsion this season again. No light at the end of the tunnel I see, probably 4-8 or 5-7 again!
Robert Sharpe on 04/14/2011 (8:53 pm)
Dan,
I didn’t think my comment about “throwing players under the bus” would be fodder for a blog post, or generate as many comments as it did.
Two points I’d like to make: First is that I agree that it’s seemed over the past few years that our coaches have forgotten to coach like their hair’s on fire. Grobe implores his players to play that way, but doesn’t seem to have the same fire, or expect his assistants to. Also, when he arrived, his offense was very creative with lots of misdirection, faking, and throwing the ball some down the field. Lately, it’s been a mish mash of bubble screens, fly sweeps, and third and long running plays. Just not creative at all.
My second point in posting the “bus” comment was to say that if Coach Bzdelik had made the very same “Chuck E. Cheese” comment, he would’ve been ripped by 90% of the fanbase for throwing his players under the bus. That was an accusation that was made against him on many occasions this year. Wake fans, be consistent. Either call out Grobe for the same type of comments, or get off Coach Bzdelik’s back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach have a shorter honeymoon, or be shown such disrespect so early in his tenure. Wake fans should be better than that. If you want to be mad with someone, be mad with the person who brought Buzz into a tough situation, but give the guy a chance to develop a program without being so hateful towards him.
Andy on 04/09/2011 (12:24 am)
Lee, I know I’ve slacked off and it’s good to be missed. I appreciate the sentiment. The reasons I haven’t been posting as much is I’ve been caught up pretty heavily in writing about the Winston-Salem Dash (Wake Forest is my main responsibility, but it’s not my only one) and the fact that there’s not nearly as much going on around campus. And to be perfectly honest, I needed some down time as well after a grueling season. But when news breaks, I don’t want to miss it. Check out my piece on Jeff Battle considering leaving for Providence if you will.
Dan on 04/08/2011 (12:58 pm)
Dan, is there nothing to report on Wake? Have you backed off a bit from reporting on football? It seemed Bzdelik was more than a little ‘short’ with you during the recent interview. Has that dampened your enthusiasm some? I’ve been missing your blog a lot. One or, maybe, two a week don’t sate the appetite. Thanks, Lee Anglin
Lee Anglin on 04/08/2011 (11:22 am)
Sure, our coaches made changes last year, more on defense than offense because that is where a lot of our problems were. I personally didn’t see much difference in the offenses throughout the year, always predictable and timid. But see, with those changes in mind, the results on the scoreboard didn’t change. So now we get to the crux of the matter. What now? I still want to know how Coach Grobe holds himself and his staff accountable. If they keep changing things as you say and the results are the same, then what happens?
Dano on 04/07/2011 (9:57 pm)
It’s time to start coaching “like your hair’s on fire”!
Chuck Thompson on 04/07/2011 (9:26 pm)
Dan,
I applauded Coach Grobe for showing the flexibility that he and the coaching staff showed last year in switching to the 3-4. It may have been easy for people like me to ask about it before the season started, but it could not have been easy for the guys in charge to pull the trigger on a move like that. I also appreciate the coaches’ decisions last year to continue to change the offense simply because nothing was working. It is unfortunate that they could not find the magic bullet, but it wasn’t from lack of effort.
How does this relate to accountability? I think that Coach Grobe honorably steps in front of the bus for his coaches. For instance, when the offensive playcalling is criticized, Coach Grobe is the one who steps in and says that the game is called the way he wants it. And I appreciate that Coach Grobe includes the staff in his statements about how the team must perform better. But that’s only half way to accountability.
The coaches then have to actually coach better. Maybe they are. We won’t know until the season starts. But I know I’ve seen an offensive line get worse for each of the last three or four seasons. I’ve seen a team get softer for each of the last few seasons. If the coaches are really coaching the way Coach Grobe wants them to coach, and recruiting the way he wants them to recruit, then I think we will see an upward trend this year instead of the continued slide back into ACC irrelevance.
But if I’m hearing how the coaches just have to do a better job again this year, I’m going to conclude that the coaching staff hasn’t been held accountable.
DC on 04/07/2011 (9:06 am)
Jim Grobe is not the highest paid head football coach in the ACC. That is nonsense that USA Today irresponsibly published.
John Sanders on 04/07/2011 (7:11 am)
Grobe is the highest paid coach in the ACC.He should be able to get the team physically and mentally ready to play. He also should be able to get the most out of his staff—which last year was mediocre at best. I would expect a much better effort this year by everyone..Go Deacs!
beachdeac on 04/06/2011 (6:55 pm)
Words sound good but results are better.
Last year Wake looked like a team just learning to play together. I saw little team spirit or toughness. Coaching plays
a big part in winning.
jack on 04/06/2011 (4:05 pm)
Dano, Last season, Wake opened the season with a spread offense designed to use the mobility of Stachitas and/or Price as a weapon, in a vein similar to what UF ran with Tebow. When both Stachitas and Price were beat up, and the Deacons were pounded at Stanford and FSU, the staff did make drastic changes. Price stayed more in the pocket, and others in the offense—most certainly the running backs—were given a larger role. On defense, Grobe made a 180 turn from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in the middle of a season. Those are what I call changes. For a coach to say when his team is under performing then he and his assistants have to do a better job, that is what I call accountability. And as for your last sentence, I understand why you’re not happy with what is going on. Nobody is, least of all Jim Grobe.
Dan on 04/05/2011 (11:37 pm)
Dan, just simply stating that he (Grobe) and his coaches need to do a better job coaching is not being accountable. Coaching by its very nature has the desire to doing a good job built in naturally. Accountability in my opinion is making a decision to change, and if changes aren’t working, then ultimately further steps must be taken. Our offense has been predictable as can be over the past few years and our defensive schemes just don’t work most of the time. Question is…what do we, or in this case Grobe and his staff, do about it? Keep trying the same things? Keep the same staff that is offering the same things? I assume that ultimately Grobe must sign off on all the offensive and defensive plays, depth charts, schemes, etc. So, then that begs the question…If he and his staff say that they are going to do a better job, and this year proves as the last 2 that nothing really is changing and no staff changes are made, and he has allowed it to happen, then what are we to expect? There is a lot of money being spent on salaries and stadium improvements for us to be happy with what is going on.
Dano on 04/05/2011 (10:53 pm)
I thought Dano’s comment on assistant coaches being held accountable was interesting. How exactly does he hold them accountable. I can’t think of anyone who has been let go. Grobe’s desire to build the football staff into a family makes accountability more difficult. That’s my opinion anyway.
John Sanders on 04/05/2011 (7:45 pm)
The more I read about Coach Grobe through your articles Dan the more my respect grows for him. Even during the last two “lean” years I never felt the problem was with his being out of touch with the team, I think WFU just has had some mediocre recruiting years.
To say that he throws his team under the bus is preposterous and a silly comment. He can call his team out on toughness. In fact he is the only one in position to really be able to do so. Even during the fiasco of last season you could tell the mechanics of offensive and defensive football were being taught. Neither the talent or maturity just werent’ there to take advantage of the coaching.
I bet no one is irritated more than Grobe when it is evident that everyone in spring ball is not “all-in.”
pensive1 on 04/05/2011 (2:00 pm)
I agree with you but the problem is not just in football. Over and over again our teams have been in place to win or be in the top of the conference the second half of the season and we just fold. This has been going on for years. Wake athletes for some reason don’t have the will to play a whole season and until someone changes that attitude we will not be successful. More power to Grobe for attempting to change the culture.
David on 04/05/2011 (12:31 pm)
Sorry Dan but you just don’t see the what the real problem seems to be. As a Marine vet, I know that you don’t preach tough, you make tough. It’s done though proper preparation, training and conditioning. Only when these things are mastered will a team have the tools required to be competitive.
These are the same kids that every other school has to work with. They all come from different backgrounds and come with different skills. It’s the coach that pulls this together.
My final criticism I will leave for you Dan, please don’t just believe everything that’s told to you. Why not find out what Fl. State or Clemson does different than Wake. How are they preparing a competitive team year in and year out.
Dad on 04/05/2011 (10:20 am)
You know what? It’s this entire dadgum generation. A bunch of no-good slackers asking for a handout. I mean, who do they think they are? Obviously they’ve done nothing to earn their scholarship offer from Wake Forest. They’re all soft. This whole sorry generation. I mean, couldn’t they at least fight a war or something? When I got out of school there were no jobs, there were wars being fought, wages were low, poverty and unemployment was at an all-time high, gas prices were through the roof, tons of corruption and political unrest. I mean, the nerve of these kids today, really.
Casey on 04/05/2011 (9:59 am)
Toughness is inherant. If you recruit a tough kid from the beginning ie. Curry, Smith, you can concentrate on football fundamentals, rather than psychology. This is not a gentleman’s game. A smart kid with a nasty disposition on the field is what we need. Then, we don’t have to worry about going to Chuck E Cheese. All it takes is a couple of these kids out there and it rubs off. Who on this team has that disposition? Who out there is not afraid of the devil, himself? I want those kids on the field, not the prettiest, or the nicest, or even the fastest. This is a violent game and I want to see the Wake players who are willing to step up and play that way. Like Curry used to say, play until the echo of the whistle. Among all those players, there have to be a few who have those traits.
Jim on 04/05/2011 (9:52 am)
Dano, When a coach says I’ve got to coach my team up better and my staff has to coach them up better, that’s my definition of accountable. What’s yours?
Dan on 04/04/2011 (9:45 pm)
