Illinois Football: Consistently Inconsistent

I asked Whetst1 to write a post about Illinois football and the current state of the program. I figure if he can sit through 4 quarters of me yelling about Juice Williams being loose, he can write a blog post. Enjoy, F&BT fans...

Thanks, Buckingham, for the opportunity to post my perspective on the state of Illinois football. Having grown up 20 miles from campus (and living there again now), as well as going to games for over 30 years, I guess I am somewhat qualified. Actually, I could write a 20 page dissertation on the topic, but I doubt anyone would enjoy that. I can sum up my personal experience as an Illinois fan as 'consistent'...I have been there through thick an thin, suffering through the O-fer seasons...often cursing my parents for raising me 20 minutes from Champaign rather than Ann Arbor or Columbus. I can sum up Illinois football during that time as 'inconsistent'. Good years and bad years, rarely able to string together any year-over-year success. Obviously that does not make us unique in this conference... I do find it funny how quickly fans forget how bad their teams once were (or perhaps they are too young to remember). Building a consistent football program is like catching lightening in a bottle. Everyone thinks they just hired the next Barry Alvarez, but it rarely works out that way. Who knows if Ron Zook is the answer, but given the current state of the Illinois program, he is exactly what was needed. So where do I feel the program currently stands?

Talent - on the rise and appears it will be consistently good. Illinois continues to bring in top 30 recruiting classes, year over year, which is what it takes to build a program. You can't rely on a single great class, as there are too many ways for it to fall apart (see Illinois under Ron Turner, or more recently Iowa). As long as Zook is the coach, expectations will be high regarding recruiting. Zook also needs to be mindful of chemistry (yes, Buckingham...Cumberland broke LeShore's jaw over a dispute regarding a cell phone...I think they misunderstood when Zook said we needed to starting fighting like Penn State and Iowa). And finally, Zook needs to remember to look beyond the measurables and recruit some footballers...Martez Wilson has all the ability in the world, but doesn't seem to like to hit people or tackle...kind of important for a linebacker.

Consistency in Effort and Execution - work in progress. I don't think many of the fans I know are surprised at how this season is playing out. Coming off the Rose Bowl, losing the heart and soul of our defense, continuing to play numerous true freshman (I counted last week and at one point we had true freshman with him at both tackle spots, tight end, both wide outs, and both running backs)...explains some of the inconsistency in the present. Need one or two more years to find out if we can be consistent, without a significant drop-off from 1st to 2nd string.

Coaching - work in progress. Zook is not a game day coach (he shouldn't be allowed to do anything but motivate the team). He should hire an assistant to do nothing but manage the clock for him (when I win the lottery, I will be volunteering). Zook has hired a great group of recruiters, but only a handful of coaches. Our inexperienced coordinators make numerous bone-headed calls per game. As some of these assistants move on, hope is Zook fills the spots with some more experienced coaches rather than the on-the-job training.

Overall - Arrows are still pointing up. This is a fragile business and taking a step back in the right direction next year will be critical. It starts with Illinois finishing off this year with a win in a lower-tier bowl game. The schedule won't be easy next year, but the offense should be even better. If Zook can find some playmakers on defense, the pieces should be in place for a good year. Fall short of expectations next year, and we could be back on that slippery slope. 8+ wins with another bowl game and Zook has done his job, as far as I am concerned. But as a life-long Illini fan, I count no chickens...

The Journey: I'm starting to See a Trend

So I've finally caught up watching Illinois Football: The Journey episodes from about the last four weeks. That's the beauty of DVR...that my laziness doesn't punish me. Well, at least not always. And in this case, I actually think my DVR is rewarding me. By watching all the episodes one after the other, I've started to pick up a few trends in the show:

1) J Leman is a certifiable BTN STAR! I know that I've posted about his appearances on the show before, but he has taken it one step further and shown slow white guys everywhere what a magical Rose Bowl season can do for them. I mean seriously...no one has capitalized on the Illini's Rose Bowl run more than J Leman. He went from a no-name outside Chambana to a national name and now a college football gig at the BTN. At first, I made fun of him for it, but after consulting blog friend Whetst1, I realized that it was good for J. He's not making the NFL, so he might as well move on. Now, if he could only get a haircut and a suit that fits...he'd be in business.

2) Ron Zook is pretty much awesome. After watching this show, who wouldn't want to play for this guy? He comes across as genuine as can be, shockingly intelligent, and certifiably bad-ass. The guy has a motor that doesn't stop, and you can tell that there isn't much in life that gets him down. Plus, he can water-ski with the best of them, and that's double points in my book.

But probably the most important reason that my laziness in watching the show has been a reward, is that watching all the shows in a row has allowed me to see...

3) Intensity has been a consistent problem for the Illini. It's a fact with this team. Every show that has gone into the locker room before a game or at halftime has shown coaches 100x more fired up than the players. Every week, they are harping on them to get their intensity up, and get their passion to higher levels. Watching 3 or 4 episodes in a row, it seems to me that this is a team that forgot where the program was two years ago. Loaded with young talent that didn't suffer through the 2-9 seasons, this Illini team seems like they forgot all the work that went into last year's Rose Bowl season. The energy isn't there. The passion isn't there. The fire isn't there. And not shockingly, the wins aren't there. If I had watched all those episodes before the Illinois vs. Minnesota game, well, let's just say I would've scored better than the 4/50 I did in the F&BT College Pick'Em Challenge this week.

The Journey: J Leman Refuses to Give It Up

Am I wrong? Is it not weird that he's all over this show? The guy was a great player last year, and certainly deserved to be honored as one of the school's 10 best linebackers on Saturday...but what in the name of Glenn Mason is he doing on this TV show again? (sidenote: Glenn Mason is an announcer for the BTN now. Do you think he rubs it in people's faces in Minnesota when he eventually goes there for a game? Do you think the BTN ever assigns him to a Gopher game? I would definitely watch Mason talk about how far Minny has fallen since he left and Timmay! took over.) Anyway, the interview with Leman wouldn't have been bad at the alumni luncheon...if that was the first time we saw him. But good ol' J managed to make his own uninvited, incredibly awkward entrance in the scene where the equipment manager was comparing the old-school helmets to the current ones. Leman just sort of walked into the picture, out of nowhere, stood there, smiled, and gave his qualified approval of the old-school uniforms. All this after showing up in the intro of the first episode to talk about the 2007 season and what he expects from the 2008 Illini. My big thing is, why?

This isn't 2007. I feel bad for Leman that he's not on an NFL roster right now, but showing up on a BTN program at your old school on a weekly basis is like going on The Surreal Life to revive your acting career...it's nothing but downhill. Just like the Surreal Life cast members are pretty much doomed to only appearances on other terrible VH1 shows (Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, anyone?), J Leman may be doomed to nothing more than a college legend that couldn't let go. This guy should be working to shape the next phase of his career or life, not hanging on to a team and program that is clearly moving on without him. And that's what it seems like Leman is doing, hanging on. It's fine if he is there to work out while waiting for another shot at the NFL, or if he's getting enough credits for his degree. But J, please...please!...try to avoid the cameras that are following the team. It makes you look a little sad, and takes some of the luster off your great college career.

On the other hand, I almost would love the show even more if the BTN kept showing him every week...kind of in the way that you cheer for crashes in NASCAR.

Other quick-hit thoughts from this weeks show:
1) Juice Williams is a dad? I legitimately did not know this. Also, did anyone else get the feeling that his girlfriend let him get away with not doing many of the chores just because she knows a payday is coming sometime soon?
2)The Zooker says "dad-gum" quite often. Pretty much in every speech he gave, it was "dad-gum this" or "dad-gum that". Does he never swear in general or is he simply just aware of the cameras?
3) Those throwback unis were sweet. I feel like this is true for a lot of teams, and makes you wonder why some teams ever upgraded in the first place?
4) The Zooker was dead-on in his speeches at halftime and after the game. The guy is a great motivator and certainly knew exactly how to handle those situations. Props.

The Journey: Zooker is a TV Star!

So I watched The Journey: Illinois Football this week, and I have to say...what the hell was J Leman doing in the intro? Seriously, shouldn't he be in an NFL camp somewhere? Yet there he was, talking up Illinois and their magical season from 2007. It shocked me to be honest. In a TV show that is supposed to highlight Illinois' 2008 football season, why would they show someone no longer on the team?

That wasn't the only thing that caught me a little off guard about the show; in fact, most of the show itself caught me off guard. Granted, I never watched an episode of the Minnesota Basketball version of The Journey, but here are a few surprising tidbits from my viewing:

1)That they went straight up to the Mizzou game in episode 1. Maybe I was expecting something more along the lines of HBO's Hard Knocks, but I expected the BTN to highlight more of the preseason camp portion of the season. Show me more practice time. The Oklahoma Drill was excellent, but I wanted more. Show me the annual trip to the waterpark...even ESPN picked up on that one!

2)That they didn't highlight the coaches more. Zook works out non-stop, but we only get one shot of him on a stair-stepper!?! (sidenote: a stair-stepper, really? I pictured Zook as more of a weightlifter/stationary bike guy. The stair-stepping really dropped him down a notch or two in my book.) Why did we only get one shot of the coaches watching film? I wanted some practice film breakdown, some team meeting film teaching...something!

3)Player Profiles. Or lack thereof. I guess I was expecting there to be 3-4 players highlighted, their stories told and characters somewhat developed in the first episode. Then we would follow those players throughout the season. One would be the star (Juice), one would have overcome an injury/adversity, one would have been outgoing (Brit Miller), and one would have been an up-and-coming freshman stud who had to earn playing time but broke through by the end of the season. I didn't get it. Sure, they interviewed the center, Juice, Rejus, and Will Davis...but we didn't get any character development. And they followed some freshman to class (a B.S. football player only type class), but I didn't even pick up his name. If they want us to fall in love with these players, they need to tell us more about them.

As it turns out, J Leman was cut by the Vikings, thus had some time on his hands (which goes further to prove how Illinois' sum was greater than its parts last year). But that doesn't mean I wanted him on The Journey. I think my wants are simple. I want to watch this show; I want to like this show; and I want to love the subject of the show. But I need more BTN, I need more. I want the drama to unfold in front of me. I want clever editing that makes awkward silences in places that you can tell there weren't akward silences. I want position battles, coaches yelling, and obligatory shots of sorority girls at the pre-game Block. Basically, I want a full contact version of The Hills with football pads. Is that too much to ask?