FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bleedpurple]

There's no doubt that Behrendt looked good today.  He has a strong arm and he is a very good runner. From what I saw today, he is fast and not just QB-fast. I think he might be fast fast. Looks to be athletic. 

I understand all of the opinions offered regarding changing QB's.  I understand the allure of developing the younger guy who seemingly brings a higher upside to the entire offense.  But, in my opinion, this decision must be 100% based on THIS YEAR.  For example (and this is hypothetical), if due to inexperience and decision-making development, the coaches believe Behrendt gives the Hawks 99% of what Brekke does in terms of ability to win, then Brekke should be the starting QB right now.  Too many people have worked too hard and sacrificed too much to lower the chance of winning this year. Conversely, if Behrendt gives the Hawks a beter chance to win this year, the change should be made.

Two other things to keep in mind. One about us and one about the coaches.
Us: Not being able to control any of this, we have been looking for positives and reasons to have hope that the offense will begin to resemble (even somewhat) the high-powered offenses of recent years.  Behrendt has come the closest to giving us a glimmer of that hope.  it is easy to over-react to that.  Would I love to watch Behrendt play football for a full game? You bet I would. He's fun to watch (yes, I can tell already) and it would be really cool to see his affect on our offense.  Do i want to see it badly enough that I would be willing to sacrifice our chance of winning by 1%? Nope.

Coaches: It would be wise to keep in mind that the coaches see these kids every day in practice.  They have video to study from both practices and games.  They have far more information to work with than we do.  Oh, and that little thing about our head coach being in his sixth season and having the same number of National Championships as losses.  No matter how strongly we may feel we know better and are smarter, we don't and we aren't.

I think it's all good to share opinions and give our reasons. Just wanted to try to anchor some perspective into the mix as this conversation moves forward. 

[emma17]

There's no doubt that Behrendt looked good today.  He has a strong arm and he is a very good runner. From what I saw today, he is fast and not just QB-fast. I think he might be fast fast. Looks to be athletic. 

I understand all of the opinions offered regarding changing QB's.  I understand the allure of developing the younger guy who seemingly brings a higher upside to the entire offense.  But, in my opinion, this decision must be 100% based on THIS YEAR.  For example (and this is hypothetical), if due to inexperience and decision-making development, the coaches believe Behrendt gives the Hawks 99% of what Brekke does in terms of ability to win, then Brekke should be the starting QB right now.  Too many people have worked too hard and sacrificed too much to lower the chance of winning this year. Conversely, if Behrendt gives the Hawks a beter chance to win this year, the change should be made.

Two other things to keep in mind. One about us and one about the coaches.
Us: Not being able to control any of this, we have been looking for positives and reasons to have hope that the offense will begin to resemble (even somewhat) the high-powered offenses of recent years.  Behrendt has come the closest to giving us a glimmer of that hope.  it is easy to over-react to that.  Would I love to watch Behrendt play football for a full game? You bet I would. He's fun to watch (yes, I can tell already) and it would be really cool to see his affect on our offense.  Do i want to see it badly enough that I would be willing to sacrifice our chance of winning by 1%? Nope.

Coaches: It would be wise to keep in mind that the coaches see these kids every day in practice.  They have video to study from both practices and games.  They have far more information to work with than we do.  Oh, and that little thing about our head coach being in his sixth season and having the same number of National Championships as losses.  No matter how strongly we may feel we know better and are smarter, we don't and we aren't.
I think it's all good to share opinions and give our reasons. Just wanted to try to anchor some perspective into the mix as this conversation moves forward.

Bleed I know you will always be the statesman and I appreciate that about you.  The part of your post that I bolded is a statement I really hope we can all stay away from in this discussion.  It should be understood and accepted by all that the coaches have more knowledge and inside information of the players.  And it should be understood that posters with opinions aren't declaring a greater intelligence than the coaches.  None of the coaches on this staff, no matter how much I like them, are beyond error or question. 

This subject has been brewing for a while and to the credit of all the posters, we stayed away from it until it couldn't be ignored any more.  There surely may be inside information that would make all the difference.  We aren't privy to that info, but what we do know for a fact is what we've seen on the field. 

As for the 99% idea, I would go the opposite way 100% of the time.  If I'm only 1% sure my current starter is my best option and yet I'm 4-1 with well below average QB play, have a great defense, and want to continue to strengthen my team for future years, I'm going to at least give my underclass QB significant time in critical situations.  AND if I can do that this upcoming week against Stout in preparation for OshKosh, you bet I'm doing it.           

[Sakman 1111]

Wow, a brewing QB controversy on the boards.....Have not had one during my Warhawk experience.....Have watched all the games but have not been to the Perk this year(very depressing)......If I were to grade the offense .....it would be Brekke C-.....Running Backs B-.....OLine C-(that pains me to say)......Receivers C.....Just my opinion.....Don't know what goes on in practice daily which obviously as previously stated is vital.....Going in for knee replacement surgery this upcoming week so I will be on the computer Saturday watching and hoping the coaching staff can get the offense jump started for the difficult remaining schedule.....My only hope to make it to the Perk is to hope for home playoff games and I worry that isn't going to happen unless the offense gets going(selfish motives on my part).....Pound the Rock......

[hazzben]

Two other things to keep in mind. One about us and one about the coaches.
Us: Not being able to control any of this, we have been looking for positives and reasons to have hope that the offense will begin to resemble (even somewhat) the high-powered offenses of recent years.  Behrendt has come the closest to giving us a glimmer of that hope.  it is easy to over-react to that.  Would I love to watch Behrendt play football for a full game? You bet I would. He's fun to watch (yes, I can tell already) and it would be really cool to see his affect on our offense.  Do i want to see it badly enough that I would be willing to sacrifice our chance of winning by 1%? Nope.

Coaches: It would be wise to keep in mind that the coaches see these kids every day in practice.  They have video to study from both practices and games.  They have far more information to work with than we do.  Oh, and that little thing about our head coach being in his sixth season and having the same number of National Championships as losses.  No matter how strongly we may feel we know better and are smarter, we don't and we aren't.

I think it's all good to share opinions and give our reasons. Just wanted to try to anchor some perspective into the mix as this conversation moves forward.

Make those generalized to any D3 team and they are important pieces of perspective to hold onto for all of us that post.

It's fun to debate, discuss and break things down. But the vast majority of posters have a fraction of the actual knowledge of the game itself and the players that the coaches possess. It's a whole lot easier to armchair quarterback and coach than it actually is to step between the lines and strap it up or to have to pull together a game plan, scheme against an opponent, call plays effectively and develop talent. That perspective gets lost in these discussions far too often.

[voice]

My mind is still spinning uncontrollably in the wake of Saturday's Team Tom Cancer Fundraiser in conjunction with the Warhawk football game vs. UW-River Falls at Perkins Stadium.

I'm told that over $10-thousand has been raised through the incredible effort of former UW-Whitewater football coach Bob Berezowitz, UW-Whitewater Athletic Director Paul Plinske and Assistant Athletic Director/Marketing and External Relations Leah Thyne along with Jim Vreizen, Shane Sparks, Gary Douglas, Arnie Peck and the staff of KOOL 106.5 Radio.

To the many that came up to me to personally express best wishes and good luck during my ongoing battle against cancer – THANK YOU! Your words are incredibly uplifting to both me and my family.

And to my wonderful daughter Kim and her family, thank you so much for being hand-in-hand with me at Saturday's game. You gave me the strength to make it through an incredibly emotional day for me.

To the fans of UW-Whitewater football, I will never be able to adequately express in words the love that I, along with my family, felt through the incredible generosity that you showed towards me at Saturday's game.

The emotion of the day came crashing down on me during that end of the third quarter on field "ceremony." As I looked up into the stands during the ceremony an incredible feeling of love and family overwhelmed my soul. It has reinforced my will to beat this terrible disease.

Again – thank you and GO WARHAWKS!

[cubs]

Well, Saturday should be a good day for the Warhawks to get back in sync on offense. River Falls gives up a ton of yards, and points.

But we'll see.

I thought the same going into last week for UWO...yet after dropping 70pts on Alma they only put up 19 against a relatively weak UWRF's team.

So what to make of this?  UWO is not as good as everyone thought?  UWRF is improving, at least defensively?  I guess after UWO/UWEC square off that will give us a better indication.  And to see what kind of fight UWRF puts up against UWW.  I don't think anything's a given in this conference.

So does a UWO 50-13 victory over UWEC really give us any better indication of what kind of team UWO is?

[MasterJedi]

Well, Saturday should be a good day for the Warhawks to get back in sync on offense. River Falls gives up a ton of yards, and points.

But we'll see.

I thought the same going into last week for UWO...yet after dropping 70pts on Alma they only put up 19 against a relatively weak UWRF's team.

So what to make of this?  UWO is not as good as everyone thought?  UWRF is improving, at least defensively?  I guess after UWO/UWEC square off that will give us a better indication.  And to see what kind of fight UWRF puts up against UWW.  I don't think anything's a given in this conference.

So does a UWO 50-13 victory over UWEC really give us any better indication of what kind of team UWO is?

Not really, but the next game against UWP should. I am looking forward to being able to hopefully watch both that game and of cours the UWW game online.

[KitchenSink]

I don't know if UWW should make a switch at QB, but Brekke's accuracy all year has been lousy.  Even the quick throws on WR screens have been 50-50 at best.  If they don't get better play at QB, Oshkosh will be tough to beat.  94 yards passing in a game ain't gonna get it done.

[ncc58]

It's easy to pile on Brekke, but what happened to Pound the Rock? Another OL was injured at the end of the 2nd quarter and left the field on crutches. The offense gained 46 yards in the first quarter, just over 100 at the half, and just over 150 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

You usually see 46 yards rushing in the first possession. But I don't think Ward or Patterson are scaring anybody at this point in the season. Patterson may become a top RB, but I saw nothing Saturday to merit some of the acclaim he has gotten. With a running game that can't makes plays out of nothing, teams don't have to put that 8th defender in the box. I've seen the running game shut down for part of the game, but not the whole game. I don't think UWW had a scoring drive over 30 yards.

The receivers dropped several easy passes. It wasn't just one of them, they all participated in the drops. I don't see a go to receiver, although I don't know why they don't target Morris more. Yeah, Brekke isn't accurate on short passes. He threw a couple nice long balls that were well covered.

Behrendt played a nice game, but he also had a fumble. He does have good speed, whereas Brekke got caught by a DT. And, UWRF was woeful. I think they had 3 fumbles and 3 interceptions from their offense. Then, there was their kicking game. I think the sequence was a botched punt (on a high but catchable snap), then a poorly timed and executed fake punt deep in their territory, and then a fumble on a kickoff. All lead to short TD drives. When Behrendt came in for the last TD, I thought that UWRF had checked out at that point.

The running game has to be key from the first series.

[voice]

Not that I'm really tuned into Whitewater's play on a week to week basis but lets take a look at the offense's personnel entering week-six of the season.
This year's team had to replace a quarterback now on the Chicago Bears practice squad and the No. 2 rusher all-time in college football (all divisions).  Last year's No. 2 wide receiver, Luke Menzel, was not able to come out for the team this year due to a medical situation. Last year's No. 1 wide receiver and preseason All-American, Tyler Huber, was injured in game-two of the season and will likely miss the entire season.
You think it's easy to find total consistency? 
I'm not sure any of the past seven Warhawk teams would have had great consistency early of any of those years with the injuries that his year's offense has had to deal with.
I'm not trying to make excuses and be a Warhawk apologist but gees!  This team is 4 & 1 and tied with Oshkosh for 1st place in the WIAC.
Call me crazy but this offense, with the proper attitude (which they have) will be more consistent.
You've got a quarterback that led his team to five playoff wins and a national championship when he was a sophomore.  Was he just lucky? I don't think so.
Get off Lee's back with the constant criticism.
If I was OC Steve Dinkle or QB Coach H.T. Kinney, I would tell Lee the same thing that Stout head coach Clayt Birmingham gave quarterback Michael Blizel at halftime of Stout's  game on Saturday vs. Stevens Point.
"We told him 'Hey, start making plays like you're playing in the backyard rather than reading all your keys,' " Birmingham said. "Sometimes you want your quarterback to relax a little and play like that."

[Pat Coleman]

He wasn't lucky in 2010, unless you call having Levell Coppage lucky.

[02 Warhawk]

Brekke benefited greatly from having a fantastic offensive line, a fantastic RB and a great defense in 2010. Rather than saying Brekke lead the team in 2010, I think it's more accurate to say Coppage and that defense lead to the team to a 2010 Stagg Bowl Championship.

Brekke's 2010 postseason:
Franklin - 23-30, 293 yards, 4 TDs, 0 Ints
Trine - 12-24, 168 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Int
NCC - 9-16, 113 yads, 1 TD, 1 Int
Wesley - 13-19, 144 yards, 1 TD, 2 Ints
Mount Union - 8-22, 121 yards, 1 TD, 3 Ints

He started off great....but his numbers went down as the competition grew tougher, which was expected. He also had Coppage in the backfield, Rusch and Brandes as receivers, and a great o line. He doesn't have nearly the tallent around him this year like he did in 2010.

Anyways...I wasn't able to watch or follow along yesterday's game. From what I'm reading, looks like Behrendt got some meaningful minutes in the second half. Was that because the game was out of hand when he came in? Or did Lance bring him to spark the offense?

I don't really care who plays QB...just as long as he gives the hawks the best opportunity to win. If that turns out to be Behrendt, great...let youngster play.

[KitchenSink]

Behrendt went in at 28-0.  A number of 2nds went in around that time.

On the other hand, UWW was sitting with about 150 yards of total offense late in the 3rd quarter.

[emma17]

Behrendt went in at 28-0.  A number of 2nds went in around that time.

On the other hand, UWW was sitting with about 150 yards of total offense late in the 3rd quarter.

Actually I think Behrendt was the only "second" to come in at that time.  It was the starting O-line, and the pass was to a starting receiver- Steve Morris.
I'm not saying the game was tight, just setting the record straight.  Which leads to the main point I'm making, UWW needs to find out if this kid can play in meaningfull minutes asap.  And Stout is the perfect opportunity. 

[KitchenSink]

Agreed.  It doesn't bode well when looking at the conference stats you see that UWW is last in passing offense.