BlitzFirst said:
I think it really depends on how the early games go for me. If we start out with a couple wins and then follow with about 3 losses, then its time to look to 2017 and we give youth a chance to learn. At that point, the season is basically long term practice for the next year in essence. The conference and any other championships are out of the question. The schedule gets tougher so if we are out of the race for anything meaningful, then its time to get back to the future. POB and Bush need to play a bunch so we don't find ourselves with three consecutive losing seasons! That could easily happen if we find ourselves as we did last year on the bottom side of .500 looking up in October. Watching Tommy's swan song is not acceptable if we are losing. I honestly don't expect this BUT it is certainly possible with a rash of key injuries in the line or something. Turnovers and penalties are the great equalizers.
Riley will play the best guy, every game, as his neck is on the line.
LOL his neck is on the line. Maybe your line.
Even if this year flubs again, he's got another 2 before his neck is on the line.
Whether Riley is going to be fired or not, the AD should tell him to play the young guys. Period. end of discussion. Seniors can and should play if the team is competing for championships / upper half of the bowls, etc. but once the losing season becomes apparent, then you double down on the 'backups to the future' program.
I agree that we should look for ways to get young players meaningful experience. Did you mean not to play seniors at all, or just to get young guys in the game?
I mean we should basically swap the roles the seniors play with the backups. Let the seniors (formerly starters) play the mop up roles at the ends of games in the losing seasons. I've watched some many times as the teams who are mired in mediocrity or worse continue the same pattern of bringing in new recruits, redshirting them, letting be backups until they are juniors and seniors and then they get the playing time as 'they've earned it" and because they are the 'experienced' and have 'paid their dues' etc. To me the rule is 'the best guys play' UNLESS the team continues to not win and they are seniors. Then, they've had their chances and just didn't get it done. At that point, you move on to the younger guys with a chance to get better and to get it done. That's how you build up the program. Thisis a never ending cycle of watching the younger guys 'wait their turns' and sit around as the next class of seniors who patiently waited their turns like good little soldiers marching to die!
To say "if I was a under classman on the team and saw the starters benched because they weren't getting the job done (losing repeatedly) I'd quit the team and transfer rather than get out there and work to win or get better so the next year you maybe could win!' is part of the problem. This notion that you're entitled to have something given to you without earning it by being successful is BS. That is the mentality at the core of many of country's problems today.
