my ramblings about the 2008 season

[poidog]

the recipe for a disappointing season:

-following the best season in school history
-the emotional scarring of a whooping on national tv
-the head coach leaving in the middle of recruiting season
-a potential replacement at QB following the former HC to his new school
-the projected starting QB falling victim to "personal issues"
-the new coaching staff being put together well into recruiting season
-losing two all-star receivers who declared early for the draft
-an attempted change of emphasis on offense during the spring fails
-the most explosive LB missing the entire season with an injury
-the toughest schedule in school history
-the #1 QB gets hurt before the first game after getting the bulk of the reps in fall camp
-the #2 QB is not ready to run the offense until halfway through the season
-the #3 QB is not a good fit for the offense
-the disruption of allowing Tyler Graunke back into the QB picture
-the offense is tailored to the skills of the #3 QB to help keep things from getting ugly
-the top 4 RBs get hurt and a 5th redshirts.
-the ridiculously high expectations by fans who tasted success in 2006 and 2007
-the naysayers who came out of the woodwork and were anxious to pile it on after the Sugar Bowl loss
-a strong Boise team with revenge on their minds
-a mediocre SJSU team with a coach smart enough to be patient until UH beat itself
-a hungry USU team waiting for a road-weary UH
-a Cincinatti team lucky enough to face a UH team that did not know how to win
-a Notre Dame team playing for redemption and to save their coach's job
-an ineffective offensive line that was hid from sight for 12 games last season by Colt Brennan & co.

That actually turned out to be a longer list than i expected. but i guess it isn't that long when you consider that this list was about 12 months in the making.

for a lot of fans, this was a disappointing season. i don't agree or disagree, but i do know that a lot of what made it disappointing was what happened before the season even started. I think that this year's team entered the season with a weak hand and the deck stacked against them and they not only managed to cut their losses, but they were able to squeeze a .500 record out of it AND accomplish 2 of their 3 goals (graduation and go to a bowl game). I can't say for sure that things would have been better if they had brought in a different staff. Sure, things may have been better if June Jones were still here, but it's not fair to compare that scenario with what actually happened. if June Jones were still here, we would have not had to deal with putting together a new staff and losing recruits and things like that, and that list i posted above would be a bit shorter. but the fact remains that he did leave, and he did not announce that he was leaving until after the bowl game even though some people close to the situation have said that he had his mind made up a little before then. perhaps hid decision was hinged on whether or not they beat Georgia? either way, it made for a much shorter timeline to get things done in terms of picking a new coach and staff, and to get things done for recruiting. all things considered, i think the AD did a good job of it and the new staff did it's best to stop the bleeding.

the coaching staff has taken a lot of flack for decision making and play calling and a lack of production on the field. while i think that a lot of it was unjust as it is easy to second-guess after the fact, i do know that it does come with the territory and June Jones was on the receiving end of it quite a bit during his nine seasons here. remember that fake punt deep in their own territory? remember the clamoring for him to run for short yardage but for a long time he would never? i remember those days and i guess things will never change and it's probably the same for every coach at every level and they all get second-guessed. we've heard it all this past season. they run too much, they aren't running enough, they are predictable, the playcalling doesn't make sense, yadda yadda yadda. what made the criticism so strong this year are the spillover expectations from the last two seasons and the fact that some people were not happy with who was picked for the coaching staff to begin with. everyone is entitled to their opinion, but i think that most of the criticism is unjust. in fact, the play calling reminded me a lot of what we'd see from the June Jones-coached teams from 2002-2004, only with worse blocking by the line. I don't even have a problem with Greg Alexander running the option play on 4th down vs Boise, even though everyone was whining about how they should have put in Funaki to run that play (and if they did put in Funaki and he got stopped, everyone would have been complaining about how predictable it was to sub in Funaki to run that play). I also don't think "conservative play calling" was the reason for the collapse vs. Cincinatti (the pass play that was tipped and picked for six was on 2nd and 5. a pass play on 2nd and 5 is hardly a conservative play). but there is no right or wrong opinion in these arguments, but the fact that there are differing opinions is a clear indicator that the "problems" of this team aren't as clear-cut as some would like to think.

In looking at my list, i can't help but notice that a good amount of those factors are results of what happened last season. this makes me wonder how people would be feeling if this coaching staff had taken over after the 2004 season instead of the 2007 season. it's been said many times that June Jones was set on leaving but stayed instead because of the arrivals of Jerry Glanville and Colt Brennan. in 2005 we lost some games that we should have won (including a close one vs Boise, except that was at home). in 2005 we were breaking in a new QB and new receivers (RGM and Davone Bess were freshmen). it took them a couple games to settle on Colt Brennan after giving Tyler Graunke a lot of reps, and it showed as it took a while before the offense clicked. also, much like the 2008 team was rebuilding the offense with a change in philosophy, the 2005 team was trying to rebuilding a defense with a ton of guys that were either new or were not good fits for a 3-4 defense. there were flashes of improvement, but statistically that defense was still one of the worst in the country. in spite of all this, that team finished 5-7 and showed flashes of greatness. for some reason, that team got a free pass from the fans while this team got ripped a new one by a lot of people. the big difference between the two teams is the type of expectations each team faced. in 2005, people were just happy that the quest for the passing yard record was over and that the rollercoaster ride that was Timmy Chang was over (also, there were less "average joe" fans on the internet back then, and the majority of people on these types of boards were homers like me). but in 2008, hawaii fans still had the taste of success in their mouths, and they wanted more. they also still felt the sting of being ridiculed in front of the entire country after the Sugar Bowl debacle. the fans were hungry for their pride to be restored, and they laid their hopes on the 2008 team to win their pride back. and then the reality of Florida hit, and the natives became restless and frustrated. I think that it was unfair to put those kinds of expectations on a team that just was barely ready for Weber St. but being the only game in town is not an easy job, and those kinds of things come with the territory.

Overall, i give the 2008 team a C+ for the year. they could have done better, but they did well enough to get through the year. the coaching staff did not do an excellent job, but they did well enough. some of the position coaches are rookies, but i think that they are good investments and they will pay off in the long run. I also believe that Greg McMackin is the right guy for the job and that he brings a nice change in philosophy with him. we are already seeing an improvement in local recruiting (at least on the surface) and also in the class room. these are the types of things that will help the long term health of the program. i only hope that people have the patience to see these trees bear fruit. i know i do, and i'm already looking forward to next season.

kudos if you read all of that.

[AlwaysUHinTX]

You know, growing up in the Price/Tomey era, I kinda felt offended at those statements about SJSU being mediocre, that team is well represented and well coached, and he knew that we would shoot ourselves in the foot. We were always a national program from back in the day, we always sent guys to the NFL, so we were never mediocre. Why do you guys always set mediocre standards for this program? Why do you guys make excuses for this year... next year is coming up, we'll see how spring ball pans out.

[poidog]

You know, growing up in the Price/Tomey era, I kinda felt offended at those statements about SJSU being mediocre, that team is well represented and well coached, and he knew that we would shoot ourselves in the foot. We were always a national program from back in the day, we always sent guys to the NFL, so we were never mediocre. Why do you guys always set mediocre standards for this program? Why do you guys make excuses for this year... next year is coming up, we'll see how spring ball pans out.

we are still a national progam and we will still send guys to the NFL. just like how teams like michigan, notre dame, florida state, etc suffer through losing stretches and are still relevant. and guess what, that SJSU team IS well coached, but they aren't very talented and aren't that good. I still say that if Pilares (our ONLY offensive threat at that point in the season) doesn't get hurt and miss the 2nd half, we win that game. but that's how this year's team was - they did not have the swagger of a winning team and all it took was a handful of plays to break them and take them out of the game. it happened vs SJSU. it happened @ USU. and it definitely happened vs Cincinatti.

it's not so much that i'm setting "mediocre standards" for anything. all i'm doing is trying to point out what i feel are the root causes for what happened this season. it's easy for joe kanaka to just lay blanket blame on the coach and want people fired. that's the easy answer for things. but if you look at the list i posted above, there are a lot of things there that there are no easy answers for. i truly believe that any team, whether it be Hawaii or anyone else, that had to face that kind of chain of events would have had a similar season. the phrase "it is what it is" is overused these days, but it sums things up nicely. it would have been nice to overcome all of those challenges and make up for the disappointment of the Sugar Bowl and win back some of the respect that was lost, but it didn't happen. it is what it is. you take whatever positives you can from it and you learn from it, and you move forward.

[BigWave96744]

Wow Poidog, that some typing you did...
Good thing you didn't time out before hitting submit.
I've had that happen to me many times when doing a long post and lost everything

[poidog]

You know, growing up in the Price/Tomey era, I kinda felt offended at those statements about SJSU being mediocre, that team is well represented and well coached, and he knew that we would shoot ourselves in the foot. We were always a national program from back in the day, we always sent guys to the NFL, so we were never mediocre. Why do you guys always set mediocre standards for this program? Why do you guys make excuses for this year... next year is coming up, we'll see how spring ball pans out.

I re-read your quote and i don't understand why you referenced "growing up in the Price/Tomey era". We had to turn the ball over five times in the 2nd half before SJSU was able to take the lead. five times. I'd like to think that the Tomey-led Hawaii teams of the 80s were slightly more effective than that.

[chawan_cut]

good job sir.

[poidog]

Wow Poidog, that some typing you did...
Good thing you didn't time out before hitting submit.
I've had that happen to me many times when doing a long post and lost everything

it has happened to me as well, which is why i type it into notepad first if i feel a long rant coming on...

[tavarua88]

I usually copy all my text before clicking post just in case that happens.

Wow Poidog, that some typing you did...
Good thing you didn't time out before hitting submit.
I've had that happen to me many times when doing a long post and lost everything

it has happened to me as well, which is why i type it into notepad first if i feel a long rant coming on...

[dakineguy]

Wow Poidog, that some typing you did...
Good thing you didn't time out before hitting submit.
I've had that happen to me many times when doing a long post and lost everything

it has happened to me as well, which is why i type it into notepad first if i feel a long rant coming on...

Here's a clue......usually you can right click and choose undo and all your writing will come back

[ktownwarrior]

The bottom line is offensively and defensively this year UH was just average. Amazingly enough, they finished with a .500 record.

I suppose if there's good news to be had, they're already the second-best team in WAC even with this average team. Now, if UH can find a way to growing from an average team to a good team, they might even win this pathetic excuse for a conference, if Boise has a bad year.

Sorry for such a negative post, but that bowl game was completely unacceptable by the standards I hold this program to and it's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth until UH can actually beat a .500 team from a BCS conference.

[Duster]

Excellent post, poidog. Count me as a homer, and I'm still Backin' McMackin!

[dcwarrior]

ND was a sleeping giant. Everyone was counting on ND continuing to shoot themselves in the foot like they did all year. Unfortunately the giant woke up. I don't think it's necessarily true that UH played any worse than usual. It's just that ND was up, hyped and more importantly for them, more relaxed than they've been.

The bottom line is offensively and defensively this year UH was just average. Amazingly enough, they finished with a .500 record.

I suppose if there's good news to be had, they're already the second-best team in WAC even with this average team. Now, if UH can find a way to growing from an average team to a good team, they might even win this pathetic excuse for a conference, if Boise has a bad year.

Sorry for such a negative post, but that bowl game was completely unacceptable by the standards I hold this program to and it's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth until UH can actually beat a .500 team from a BCS conference.

[JerseyHI]

Great job on the review poidog, and I think you made many valid observation, thanks. The only thing I have doubts on is that you said the rookie coaches are great long term investment and they will be alright. I think Mac made a mistake by hiring so many rookie coaches, especially the key position coaches in this offense. Almost all coaches including himself took a promotion into their current position or in this D1 level. He should realize that after having been to the top level of college football, fans expect the program to build on the past success and not rebuild from scratch. Too many of his assistants lack the experience and credential to operate at their various coaching positions.

[poidog]

Great job on the review poidog, and I think you made many valid observation, thanks. The only thing I have doubts on is that you said the rookie coaches are great long term investment and they will be alright. I think Mac made a mistake by hiring so many rookie coaches, especially the key position coaches in this offense. Almost all coaches including himself took a promotion into their current position or in this D1 level. He should realize that after having been to the top level of college football, fans expect the program to build on the past success and not rebuild from scratch. Too many of his assistants lack the experience and credential to operate at their various coaching positions.

what the fans expect and what's realistic are two different things. even if they had went with different assistants, i don't think very many items come off of the list of factors i posted. whether or not having so many young coaches is good or not is very debatable, though. since i like making lists, let's list the pros and cons:

pros:
many of the young coaches played here and have strong ties to the program and the state
the coaches that played here know the system we are trying to run
these guys were available when Coach McMackin was filling out his staff

cons:
they lack D-1 coaching experience
so many young coaches at the same time does not allow for proper mentoring

in a sense, we were spoiled sometimes by JJ bringing in old dogs like Mouse Davis and Jerry Glanville with unquestionable pedigrees. however, we also dealt with questionable personell decisions like when he decided not not bring in a real DC to replace Kevin Lempa after he left for BC or when Grad Asst. Tyson Helton was given the job of Special Teams coach after Mcknight left the first time even though he was never a special teams coach. to me, these decisions were much more unwise than any of McMackin's hires as these were coordinator positions and there were significant drops in the production of the defense and the special teams during these times (and this doesn't include when JJ didn't bring in a real o-line coach to replace Cavanaugh when he left, which has a big part in why our o-line isn't what it used to be nowadays). perhaps there just weren't as many fans on the internet back then, but those decisions did not get nearly the criticism that the hirings of Smith and Rolovich and the promotions of the Lee brothers are getting. these past decisions by JJ don't justify any of McMackin's decisions or make them right or wrong or whatever. they just go to show that there are different ways to do things. and unfortunately, the decisions made by the head coach are pretty much always wrong when things don't go well.

[RedZone]

Everytime I hear people want more experienced coaches I wonder who are these coaches and do the want to be here? How many coaches out there know the offensive system that Mack is trying to run? And again do they want to be here? Do you want a coach who will be here only one year like Gerke? Even Mack left after one year but he is here now because he wants to be here. As for coach Mack why should he listen to anyone who thinks they know the kind of staff he needs to put together? Isn't it his job to do so? You can always hire someone and it doen't work out but do you let someone else do your evaluations when it is your responsibility? The last coach I remember who panicked and made all kinds of changes ended up with the worst season in UH history.