Congratulations Washington

No other way to put it.

There was one team on the field last night that looked like they had something to play for. And it wasn’t us.

And that shocked the holy hell out of Brinkhater.

When you think about how BIG this game was for our program, and how much bigger it was for us than for them, well….I’m still nearly speechless.

But, Tye got his boys to play and they played, so Kudos to the Tyee club for that. And what happened to us?

You can check out Sedihawk’s take at AOL. Its a good one, although I’m not going to agree with it entirely (although he was there, so you decide). Here are Brinkhater’s takes:

1) What happened to the D?

Granted, the 3-4 and its effectiveness waned down the stretch. But since 2003–when we were loaded with NFL talent–this defense, though plagued by injuries the past couple of years–has just not been effective. The biggest issue has been our blitz schemes. As Doba noted last year, other teams had figured us out. Well, they figured us out again this year down the stretch. When you read the quotes in the paper, you’re gonna wonder what’s going on with preparation (third week in a row, the players talk about being unprepared or surprised).

Say what you want, but this team was better defensively than what it showed. The coaches HAVE to be accountable for that. It may be time for someone’s head to role on the staff. Its NOT getting done.

2) What happened to our Punter?

Don’t know about you all, but why our punter decided to have Saturday be his worst game BY FAR is just beyond me. He took the Biggest strides in the history of ever with the biggest shank jobs in the history of ever. Again, I don’t understand it, but its fair to say that our special teams play has been THE WORST ever for us in the Doba era. There also needs to be accountability there.

3) Burn Martin Stadium Down to the Ground

There was a post on Glenn’s blog earlier in the year lambasting Kasses for picking against the Cougs before the Oregon game because Glenn didn’t recognize our ‘home field advantage.’ Well, in the last two years, we are a whopping 1-8 at home in conference play. That, dear Cougar nation, speaks volumes about the state of our program. Pathetic.

4) End the Brink Regime.

Sedihawk is pretty adament that there was no one open yesterday. Fair enough. Although my argument is beyond tired at this point, I am also flipping sick and tired of dismissing our program’s woes on everything BUT our quarterback. The bottom line is this:

a) His mechanics don’t allow him easily to “dump over” the line to hit the middle or semi-middle slant (he was good straight over the middle this year, but never found the slant pass–which is where he got picked off all of last year. This year he didn’t throw it at all–he threw a possession curl. The slant used to be a huge part of our playbook!)

b) When he rolls out, his arm strength limits him to out patterns to receivers that are rolling with him (he can’t throw cross field–another limiting factor).

c) While he clearly has toughness, his legs don’t provide us with an extra dimension to our offense.

d) His bubble screens take FOREVER to get there–which means that seldom, if ever, does the short pass yield yards after the catch–another staple of previous offenses. Yesterday, you saw younger guys drop a few of those because of hearing “footsteps.” The ball just takes too long to get there…

e). Building on “e”, his arm strength yields far too many timing routes–which get taken away real quick when defenses pinch up.

f) Too often he plays “great” on one hand, but then misses CRUCIAL gimme passes which cost us CRUCIAL first downs. (and games!). This type of error is something you take as a growing pain with a young QB, but not one that has played for three seasons…

The list can go on and on and on.

Bottom line of bottom line:

1) We go 9-3 this year if Bumpus and Hill Don’t Get Hurt

2) We are going to have a losing season next year.

3) We are going to have a losing season the year after that if our QB is in his first year.

Its that simple.

It was a bad season, with bad breaks. But you had your chance Mr. Alex and couldn’t get it done. Time for you to hold the clipboard now.

And its Time for You Mr. Doba to make some serious changes. We talked about it last year, TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TEAM. The inmates (your assistants) don’t run the assylum. You do. So, run it. (I would make no changes to the offensive coaching staff, by the way).

Clearly, the status quo just ain’t working.

What a long offseason it will be!