Groh Must Go???

STORY

COMMENT: COACH OF THE YEAR? HUH? coach of the year is really the award that writers get to give to the team that they thought was going to suck at the beginning of the season, but actually turned out ok, but because there is no award for that, it goes to the coach.

I have been at UVA as long as Coach Groh has. In my entire time here, there was precisely ONE game that i thought UVA had no chance to win, but did end up winning...vs Florida State in 2005. Games that UVA should have won but actually lost, in 2007 alone there was @ NC state and @ Wyoming. Last year there were losses to Western Michigan and Eastern Carolina. The year before there was the dreadful defensive performance against MD where Vernon Davis appeared to run around the field with a protective force field and then the inexplicable loss to UNC by a score of 7-5.

Im gonna stop, its depressing me. The key thing is that Al Groh deserves the extra year, he doesnt deserve the actual amount of money he makes.

Groh Quotes:

Reporter: What were you doing on that last play? (against syracuse)
Coach Groh: You ever see cocktail? sometimes you just have to go for it.

thats about it.

UVA vs Pitts

6:55 Again today, i decided against going to the game, mostly because it has appeared to work in favor of UVA winning....now that i typed that, well i know UVA is going to lose. It is a beautiful day today in Charlottesville, VA. Temperatures will drop to the high 50's by the end of the night, clear skies, full moon disappearing. In other words, PERFECT weather for football. since the GROH MUST GO beta bridge painting, GROH has gone 3-0, but still not looking particularly good throughout an entire game. So today, against a mediocre pittsburgh team, the goal oughta be to find some consistency all the way through.

7:00 Announcing from David A. Harrison III Field, at Scott Stadium, in the Carl Smith Center are Dave Armstrong and Mike Gottfried? Oh, apparently he used to coach at Pittsburgh....thats a pretty heavy duty resume. On the plus side, we get to see another match up of Ex-NFL head coaches...its the WANNSTACHE vs GROH.

7:04 So when Coach Wannstedt speaks, I am reminded of Dustin Hoffman in Rainman. Definitely.




7:06 Nothing reeks of desperation like opening the game with an onside kick. Unsurprisingly it backfires on Coach Dave. Peerman runs for a first down his first touch. Maybe i didnt curse them...

7:09 I LOVE the fake that fools the cameraman. TOUCHDOWN to TE CLONE #1. He does not throw up the roc. He must be a fiddy fan.

7:11 "if it worked, it would have been a brilliant coaching move" if my aunt had a dick, she'd be my uncle. OOOOO, freshman QB starting for Pitt....i honestly am not sure if its legal for pitt to try so hard to win.

7:15 3 and out for pitt. um, wow. i didnt know it was legal to have a team this much worse than UVA.

7:19 TOUCHDOWN for TE CLONE #2. Same lame touchdown celebration as TE CLONE #1. well i guess they are clones...stupid clones.

7:23 um, for the moment Pitt fumbled the kickoff and UVA recovered???? Um, i wouldnt think that Pitt was this bad? ITS OFFICIAL, the official is confused about which direction is Pitt, also UVA has the ball. Hey Wannstedt meet you at the bar at halftime?

7:27 "UVA is going to the fair, havin a good time, Pitt is going to the dentist..." Oh so now it makes sense why Gottfried is broadcasting games on ESPNU. The FB catches a TD? Jackson? whatever.

7:31 THE KICKER STANDS UP ROBINSON ON THE RETURN. hehe, plus cheating on Pitt, negating a good return.

7:36 IMPORTANT NEWS: Pitt's offense is coached by....Matt Cavanaugh. Explains a lot (especially if you are a ravens fan). OMG VIC HALL IS GOING TO damn. almost score on a punt return.

7:40 UVA's average starting field position: the 34....Oh the PITT 34.

7:43 horrible cheating call on Pitt. but, i'll take it. TOUCHDOWN PEERMAN. He points to God. Or maybe some dead person he knows that is in heaven. or possibly was attempting to point out a UFO. ESPN being ESPN disregards the real stories, and focuses on hyping the stars in the game.

7:46 Surprising News: Matt Cavanaugh won a national championship as QB for Pitt.
Unsurprising News: Was backup QB for multiple Super Bowl winning teams.

7:49 Two consecutive cheating penalties on Pitt. Yea thats poor coaching, makes me feel good about Groh, which is well surprising.

7:58 What? oh im debating sleeping or watching the second half.

8:04 Sewell attempts a pass to TE CLONE #3, but he was covered by two people. maybe they got confused and thought he was TE CLONE #1. Then Mike Groh calls for two incomplete passes and a run? on 3rd and goal at the 7? Thanks for reminding me why I think i can coach this team, MIKE. FG UVA. blah.

8:07 www.getlistenup.com yeah seriously. apparently anyways.

8:09 they are interviewing cavman during live game action. lemme remind you that Cavman does not speak. i just pulled a beard hair though, it was 2 inches long.

8:12 UVA fumbles the punt. Pitt recovers, now that's the UVA I know.

8:15 TD PITTSBURGH. if pittsburgh scores but UVA fans are the only ones watching, does it actually happen?

8:25 Among my favorite signs ever are "Steve Black Toss My Salad", "Catholics vs Criminoles", and "I Wanna go for a Wannstache Ride"

8:30 Gonna watch florida-auburn instead. UVA is playing well against an opponent that appears to know how to do nothing except play horrible. Typical Al Groh win, beating a horrible team at home. next week is on the road.

UVA vs UNC

11:57 Watching both UVA vs UNC and start with stuttgart vs cottbus and move over to chelsea vs blackburn. Just want to say that i was lectured about the war that will end all wars between muslims vs everyone else. The guy is a war vet, and pretty much scared the crap out of me.

12:01 Daughtry music video sports montage. woooo corporate synergy. WOOOOO south's oldest rivalry. Chris Long is called a neanderthal....as a compliment....sort of i guess.

12:09 Butch Davis is coach of UNC? Anyways, UNC should be good at football, its a great school, beautiful campus, good fan base.....wait sounds familiar.

12:14 Peerman runs for a first down....i like him. good blocking will help with that. Sewell looks ok, nothing great, nothing horrible. Just want some consistency man. This Lalich vs Sewell duel reminds me of Spinner vs Schaub, except Spinner cheated and left school. So maybe this time Lalich will end up in front of UJC for underage drinking or something.

12:18 WOOOOOOO Delay of game....yeah coaching. WOOOOOO GROUND caused the fumble. Peerman with a good run. Showin some moves...but then sewell gets his ass kicked on the option

12:22 Tight end in motion.....OMG THEY RAN BEHIND HIM AND THE FULLBACK TOUCHDOWN!!!!

12:27 Chris Long is now an animal. Fitzgerald gets the sack though. Then Chris Long gets the sack...apparently cant block him in a pillowfight.

12:29 David Bentley has beautiful soccer hair....not nearly as beautiful as Carvalho, but ya know its pretty goddamn good.

12:33 Procedure penalty on UVA.....yeah thats coaching too. First pass longer than 10 yards is to A TIGHT END?!??! whatever, he missed anyways.

12:46 FUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBLLLEEEEEEEEE UVA with the recovery. UVA actually looks like they want to win this game.

12:51 Blocking up front looks VERY good. That is coaching as well.

12:52 Illegal formation...thats cheating and coaching.

12:58 I just dozed off for the past 5 minutes....i dunno how i do this.

1:05 Sideline warning? wtf? i dont think ive ever heard of that before. Also have Andrew Pearman with Lalich in the backfield.....DA FUTURE OF THE FRANCHISE?!?!?!?

1:21 All of a sudden, UNC's offense looks really good. Not surprisingly it is due to quick passes that neutralize the pass rush and on corners that dont really bump and run.

1:25 Interception goes through UVA's hands, and then next play, TD UNC. Lets see some halftime adjustments AL.

1:41 I would totally do tiki.

2:01 BLA BLAH BLAH. Steve Martin (not the funny one) has a nice voice. Are there not white people who do play by play?

2:03 I forgot Gus Johnson and Greg Gumbel. HOLY CRAP SHEVCHENKO KICKED SOMEONE IN THE HEAD. they are carrying him off the field.....hope he is ok.

2:07 Sewell is sacked on two consecutive plays. Blocking scheme? no just a player getting beat. oh and delay of game....thats coaching al. so far i see ZERO adjustments.

2:12 HAHA the ref was trying to not get hit and missed the field goal call.

2:19 Amazingly, Wisconsin is only up 28-21 on Citadel. And UNC is throwing the ball all over UVA....for a touchdown. UVA is about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Also the UNC cheerleader, not nearly as attractive as most Carolina girls i have met.

2:25 For some reason, UVA cant protect the QB all of a sudden.....halftime adjustments by UNC i guess....i mean why would you change things up?

2:31 Final score: 21-18 UNC-UVA. its gonna suck.

2:35 CHRIS LONG WITH THE PICK. chris long is my nomination for GOD.

2;40 Cheating on the offense. LAME.

2:42 Cheated again, 15 yards backwards in the redzone. GREAT COACHING JOB. Also there is a guy on the blue team in the soccer match with the name Sisi....i bet he dives a lot. OMG THE HALVOLINE COMMERCIAL RETURNS.

2:52 UNC fumble, UVA recovers. it appears that UNC wants to win this game about as much as UVA does. in other news, the team that scores more points, will win the game.

3:00 I just went poo. It was a 8.5 out of 10 on the stinky scale. I think UVA's play is affecting my digestion. My roommate is talking to his computer game.

3:06 Dropped another interception. Also megathron is outside of the space station.

3:07 Chris Long makes the tackle 15 yards down field. He is unbelievable.

3:09 Three consecutive passes for first down. What is this the prevent defense? CRAP down at the 2. Why cant UVA have no name wide receivers this good? or is this more of an offensive scheme thing?

3:12 SHIT. wide-open in the back of the end-zone. Amazingly this play looks much better than when the ravens attempted to run it in Cincy. AND THE DEFENSE SAID NO!! (that sounds just as lame in real life as on the computer)

3:19 Almost horrible play by monroe. Thankfully they already had the first down.

3:21 End of game. Close, won on a replayed field goal, got lucky that UNC had a couple big turnovers in the second half when they were driving. Chris Long looked very good. Peerman also ran the ball extraordinarily well in the first half, the O-line didnt assert itself nearly as well in the second half. In the second half the O-line needs to be beating up on tired defense and both Peerman and Pearman should be running all over them. But I'll take it. We'll see how the "Groh Must Go" contingent feels about this on Monday.

It's Wednesday

I refuse to acknowledge the events of September 10, 2007. At least the events that happened within the confines of Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This has been up on Beta Bridge for a full week now:



Typical UVA students and their infighting. There is absolutely no way that Craig Littlepage will even consider firing Groh MIDSEASON for his team's horrible performance on the field. If something were to happen off the field, then its anybody's guess. That said, this would seem to be a salient point. Is it within the rights of the athletics department to remove anyone that is publicly criticizing a player or coach?

My answer would be absolutely not. I think that fans should be allowed to voice their opinions, whatever they may be, as long as they would be acceptable in any public forum (no profanities, etc). BUT, I believe that as part of being a responsible fan, you play with the hand that you were dealt. Even, if you HATE someone on your own team, you wish for them to succeed, because well, that means they are contributing to the TEAM succeeding.

So I believe that arrogance on the student's part is the true culprit. While not unique to UVA sports fans, but, in particular when I go to home basketball games, many fans believe themselves to be more intelligent then the coaches. UVA students in particular are fed from their first summer orientation that they are special for attending the "University". While its not necessarily a bad thing to boost the self-esteem of pimply freshmen, it does lead to an attitude of self-entitlement and belief that well I got into UVA, I am smart, I watch football, I could coach this team. I mean that play when Sewell threw an interception its obvious that he should have checked down. This attitude is a slippery slope that leads to never-ending dissatisfaction with the team. If you always think that you can do a better job, then how will you ever be happy with the team's performance?

In the end, you have the right to say whatever you want about the team (as long as its true), but sometimes you have to wonder about what it is that you are truly trying to accomplish? Do you honestly believe that a coaching change is in order? or do you just think you are smarter then the coach?

GROH MUST GO!!!

Beta bridge today:



Facts:

According to college sports report Groh ranks 16th in salary among college football coaches.

The last time Virginia was ranked was in the 2005 season

The highest ranking was 10 in 2004

Since Groh's arrival at Virginia, 13 Cavaliers have been selected in the NFL Draft, while 19 others have signed pro contracts as free agents.

3-1 in bowl games

ACC coach of the year in 2002

Overall 37-26 record, combined 9-20 on the road since 2002.

Opinion:

It is very unlikely that Groh will be replaced midseason. Even after a horrible game at Wyoming. If you look at the splits, the team consistently performs poorly on the road. The roster does not change when the team goes on the road. It is a matter of being prepared, and that aspect of winning is on the coaches. If he doesnt win 6 games this year he will be fired.