Franchione

[froggy]

WTF is WRONG with Franchione??? Losing by 7 and on the 1 1/2 yd line and kicks a friggin' field goal!! Then gets a 4th and three and kicks another one to get within 1 point !?! Does he think this is hand grenades? I'm losing my mind. I've got to go kick something.http://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/images/icons/hairout.gif

[EGT Limited]

Bad coaching and a worse game plan. How many time did the quarterback have to dump the ball because everyone was covered?

[zihuatanejo]

We were listening to the A&M game on the way home from the UT game and the radio announcers were ripping Fran for being an idiot for the goal line calls...Fran has coasted thus far and the season has really just begun for them as far as tough games go.

[Red]

I pasted this on the wrong thread.....it belongs here, too.

I'm not happy about the 3 and 2 play action pass at the goal line with about 6 minutes left....it would have been four down territory if we'd have run on 3rd down, like Bob Davie said. After making nothing on 3rd, 4th and 2 was an unlikely one to make.

But what makes me more disappointed than anything else is the midseason disrespect shown for our coaching staff....hit from all sides, from fans on the public interweb to announcers on the air.... second guessing everything including whether martellus tied his shoes on straight.

In the first quarter when down 14-10 when our offense had hardly been stopped and had scored on both of our possessions, the ABC announcers were questioning the offense and the play calling. Jeeezzzzz...and there are surely sheep following this ludicrous way.

If you must 'Rag on' your team in public, and coaches are part of the team, do it AFTER the season is over. IMO. Otherwise your givin' 'em blood to smell out.

Red

[TheGoose]

Who gives a **** what this sports announcer or what some fan says? IMO the disrespect is well deserved. Fran is now 0-8 in November, if I correctly recall.....

Like I said. We have a 4 game schedule this year. We are now 0-2 in my book.

I am really proud of the way the team played, we are going to be stacked on offense in the future.

McGee's passing looked terrible, and I have issues with what transpired at the end of the fourth quarter (would've gone for it). I have seen Fran outsmart himself so many times it's just unbelievable. Not saying we would have made it, but why go for it on fourth down against army and not OU? The inconsistency is maddening. IMO Stoops is the best gameday coach in the game. His talent is a little down right now, but his team plays hard and is well coached.

You have to wonder, with OU's starting QB and RB (Bomar and Peterson) out, that this was our best shot at beating OU. We had them at home, during a night game, and we were on a roll. When are we gonna get these guys?

I think we beat NU soundly next week.



But what makes me more disappointed than anything else is the midseason disrespect shown for our coaching staff....hit from all sides, from fans on the public interweb to announcers on the air.... second guessing everything including whether martellus tied his shoes on straight.

In the first quarter when down 14-10 when our offense had hardly been stopped and had scored on both of our possessions, the ABC announcers were questioning the offense and the play calling. Jeeezzzzz...and there are surely sheep following this ludicrous way.

If you must 'Rag on' your team in public, and coaches are part of the team, do it AFTER the season is over. IMO. Otherwise your givin' 'em blood to smell out.

Red

[timbo]

I pasted this on the wrong thread.....it belongs here, too.

I'm not happy about the 3 and 2 play action pass at the goal line with about 6 minutes left....it would have been four down territory if we'd have run on 3rd down, like Bob Davie said. After making nothing on 3rd, 4th and 2 was an unlikely one to make.

But what makes me more disappointed than anything else is the midseason disrespect shown for our coaching staff....hit from all sides, from fans on the public interweb to announcers on the air.... second guessing everything including whether martellus tied his shoes on straight.

In the first quarter when down 14-10 when our offense had hardly been stopped and had scored on both of our possessions, the ABC announcers were questioning the offense and the play calling. Jeeezzzzz...and there are surely sheep following this ludicrous way.

If you must 'Rag on' your team in public, and coaches are part of the team, do it AFTER the season is over. IMO. Otherwise your givin' 'em blood to smell out.

Red
Wait until after the season before criticizing??? Should we wait until a sitting president is out of office before criticizing?? If the coach is making bad play calls, the fan has every right to criticize. Francione has had plenty of time to get a team together, and has been given a pass, in my opinion, for the last few years.

[tank02]

TheBottom line here fella's is that the man sux's at coaching!

[BritishSlave]

Wait until after the season before criticizing??? Should we wait until a sitting president is out of office before criticizing?? If the coach is making bad play calls, the fan has every right to criticize. Francione has had plenty of time to get a team together, and has been given a pass, in my opinion, for the last few years.
LOL we haven't done much good on that front either. LOL

The field goal to get within 1 was a real puzzler. Not enough time left to stop OK and score again. I think that call will be discussed for a long time.

[mastercylinder]

The field goal to get within 1 was a real puzzler. Not enough time left to stop OK and score again. I think that call will be discussed for a long time.
it's those kinds of calls that lose jobs for coaches.

[Soapeddler]

I'm just curious why he wouldn't use his most powerful weapon when down close. Javorski running the ball seems like the obvious answer when it is 3 and goal.

Now we'll have to wait a few more years for some other coach to build a team. I just can't see him surviving Tech AND last night.

[ROOSTER REDCHASER]

the crazy thing is this..............Fran probably WILL survive going 0-3 in November.
Puzzeling.

Not giving Jaws the rock was ludicrus. It was a Middle-School coach "no brainer".

[spotsndots]

The disappointing one too me is the first one with 6 minutes or so left. The play I'd call T19 which would have bee JTrain straight up the middle for 6 stinking feet and his 19th TD of the season. If he doesn't score on the first one then try it again. The passing game was anemic for the first time all season and we try that instead on 3rd down. OU had a total of only 103 yds for the game after their first 2 drives. Everyone (fans, coaches, Paul Thompson and Stoops-based on their comments) knew our defense had shut them down after those first 2 possessions. That was definitely puzzling. That being said, as I have said all year, Coach Fran will be evaluated after the season no different than anyone of us would be at a year end job evaluation. My prediction is that he will stay no matter what unless we are blown out and not competative in the final 2 reg. season games and 1 bowl game.

[John Mills]

I WAS AT THE GAME, HE SUCKS! WHY when you are 2 and goal on the 2 yard line, do you tell Steven to drop back and pass it? The aggies "TEAM" did a great job and Fran screws it up and gives OU the game.

[zihuatanejo]

November 24th may be his last day on the job........

[dennis_99]

It was miserable to watch how the game ended up playing out. The defense played well after the 1st qtr. jitters and caused two turnovers late, however ZERO points off turnovers hurts. Our two running backs did well, McGee had some good gutsy runs, but we got outcoached, plain and simple...

Twice in the game we were inside the ten and settled for field goals. That may allow us to come back against the Baylors, Kansas and OSU's of the conference, but this was a big boy game on a national stage, and we needed TDs....

The worst was being on the two/three yard line and tying to pass the ball when the pass hadn't been there all night. It was plain as day that we were in four down territory, everyone in the world knew it except Fran and his coaches, yet we try to pass then very non shalant kick a field goal????????

C'mon, 6 minutes left, our defense had been stellar, even if we're stopped on fourth, we have then pinned on the 1 yard line with 6 left? We wouldn't have been any worse off than what we ended up at...

On another note, my compliments to the 12th man and everyone in attendence. We once again showed that we are second to none when it comes to homefield advantage, spirt and TRADITION!!! I got buterflies every time the showed those panoramic shots of Kyle Field...

[Red]

Criticizing inside the U.S. is one thing. Inside the Aggie family is one thing. But when leaders of the US (Al Gore, Ted Kennedy) and other bashing the U.S. while speaking overseas and other places is NOT acceptable. Yeah, I have a problem with that.

It spreads like a cancer.

Wait until after the season before criticizing??? Should we wait until a sitting president is out of office before criticizing?? If the coach is making bad play calls, the fan has every right to criticize. Francione has had plenty of time to get a team together, and has been given a pass, in my opinion, for the last few years.

[Big Mike PP2]

I am not a happy ag today........

[Old Whaler]

My neighbors and I were watching the game in my garage and drinking WAY too much beer. We almost threw bottles at the TV when he kicked those FG's instead of going for it. OU barely escaped this one. Fran has got to go. As conservative as R.C. was, I think he would have gone for it.

[capt. david]

i thought it was the most lackluster football game i have watched in a long time. ou didn't play well enough to win and A&M played bad enough to lose. it's tough to win when you have only 63yards passing. as far as aggie crowd noise at times you could hear a pin drop. not the usual kyle field fans. imo

[chastst]

Fran really knows how to silence the crowd, except it was his own crowd. I think everyone in the place was stunned with those calls!!!

[fishsmart]

You need more than a nice haircut and a moderated voice to be a successful coach. We need a Coach Bryant - John Wayne type of real man for a coach. Time to get it on.

Charles '60

[timbo]

Gee whiz!! I finally get a couple of threads to post on upstairs, and it ends up down here! So much for trying to reform...

[the waterman]

i thought it was the most lackluster football game i have watched in a long time. ou didn't play well enough to win and A&M played bad enough to lose. it's tough to win when you have only 63yards passing. as far as aggie crowd noise at times you could hear a pin drop. not the usual kyle field fans. imo
You could not have been at the game. Unless you were talking about it being quiet when A&M had the ball which would be understandable or when AFTER (AND I MEAN AFTER THE PLAY) O. U. picked up that last first down with 1:20 or so left in the game and it ended the game, you don't have a clue what your talking about. I was at the whole game and that was one of the loudest and most sustained loud games I have been at- and I am a season ticket holder that has seen most every game since the late 90's.

[spotsndots]

Waterman, don't worry about capt. D, he is a little water logged. Here is his comments from another thread about the horns. First one is from today the second is from last week or so
"when the polls come out we should be 3rd in the country" I guess he forgot there were still 3 "major conference" teams undefeated.
"we may not have the best offense but our defense is no doubt the best in the country." Here he hasn't checked there pass defense because there is no way they can be close to the best when they are ranked 112 out of 119 teams. He, like our other famous horn poster always has those orange colored glasses on. As the famous quote states "Facts do not interfere with my opinion" applies to Capt. D.

[Gottagofishin]

Just found the Sport Forum in the Jungle LOL!

When you have the ball on the 3, 2 downs, and Javorski Lane to take the leadion the 4th quarter, it's a no brainer from a coaching standpoint. Even if they didn't make it, no one would have questioned the decision to go for the TD. The other thing it did was tell the offense he didn't have confidence in them to punch it in. That was as bad a coaching decision as I have ever seen.

The players played well enough to win the game and coaching lost it. I've given Fran the benefit of the doubt up until now, but enough is enough.

[dennis_99]

Well said Waterman and Spotsndots!!!

[squidly]

Ya'll can keep Franchione, he has no class..... Roll Tide (of course our coach sucks also)

[Old Whaler]

Your just jealous he left Bama to come to Aggieland!Ya'll can keep Franchione, he has no class..... Roll Tide (of course our coach sucks also)

[dennis_99]

Ya'll can keep Franchione, he has no class.....
and by the looks of your Avatar, you know about having some class.

[bluefin]

As we were leaving DKR Memorial Stadium last night, the crowd with the radio headsets were immediately tuned in to the A&M game. Just about every UT fan within earshot wanted to know how the Ags were doing. When it was announced that the Ags were down by 4 but inside the twenty most folks were silently pulling for you Ags. Kinda weird. No one cheered, and I mean no one, when we were told the Ags were down. Everyone seemed to be silently pulling for you guys. I only add this in b/c it shows the respect both fans have although neither wants to lose to the other. Personally I wanted to see the Ags knock the Sooners down another notch. They get too many of our blue chip high school athletes. Oh well. See ya'll on the field after Thanksgiving! Hook Em!

[dennis_99]

Thanks bluefin. Very classy; now thats some class right there!

[Red]

Good story bluefin, thanks for that.

[bevo/fishing/hunting]

This horn was quietly rooting for you ags, for TEXAS pride, and hopefully 2 1-loss teams meeting on T+1.

I would have coach dennis on a silver platter today. Awful play calling time and time again!

[greg77]

3 rd and goal from the 2 and we pass !!!!!!!!!!! Unbeliveable. I would have been happier if they had announced the play and snapcount over the PA. "Jorvorskie Lane up the middle on 2" and if that didn't work, do it again.

[spec]

3 rd and goal from the 2 and we pass !!!!!!!!!!! Unbeliveable. I would have been happier if they had announced the play and snapcount over the PA. "Jorvorskie Lane up the middle on 2" and if that didn't work, do it again.
that's funny that is the same conversation I had with a friend on Sunday. They should have been able to point to the hole and tell OU that Jovorskie was coming through here 2 times and still been able to score.

[dennis_99]

Absolutely correct! And if we couldn't pick up 2 YARDS on two attempts, then hey we don't deserve to win and we move on. But to loose in the fashion that we did just stinks.

[Crossroads]

I think the aggies could have picked up the two yards if they had committed to run straight ahead ( J-Train) both downs instead throwing it on 3rd. That was a Fran mistake (IMO). But, even if the aggies had scored the TD, that does not mean they would have won the game. I believe OU would have played the next possesion a little differently and probably driven the length of the field and scored another TD winning the game. It was a close game and in my opinion it would not have been nearly that close if played in Okie land (props for the 12th man). I believe the aggies lost because the the stinkin Okies just have a little bit better team. I still think Fran is a pretty good coach and I've seen him a lot because I had season tickets at TCU for his entire stay there, however I don't know if he's the guy to lead the aggies past the Raiders, Horns, and Sooners. I'm pretty sure all those teams as well as Baylor will be a lot better next year so it's not gonna get better any time soon. It's really tough playing in the B-12 south, for example Baylor beat three north division opponents and can't stay on the field against the south teams. If Fran wins out or even splits the remaining games, give him another year.

[Gottagofishin]

... I believe OU would have played the next possesion a little differently and probably driven the length of the field and scored another TD winning the game. ...Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know because Fran didn't give his team a chance to win.

[Crossroads]

Gottago.... you are totally correct!!

[Red]

From another Aggie Board:

"Short memories ....

Against Baylor last week (not exactly the OU defense)

1st and goal from the 3 .... give to Lane, lose one yard
2nd and goal from the 4 .... give to Lane, no gain

Why would any fan believe that a play can not be stopped if it is used over and over?"

Wisdom....http://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/images/icons/icon14.gif

Gottagofishin, I understand where you are coming from with the argument that even if he doesn't make it, at least the fans see we gave it our best. But the coach is on the sideline and sees the little things that we don't. Fran could have easily called the J-Train for if nothing else, a 'PR' move. But he wants to win. Stoops out-thought the Ags on this one...but even then Fran and the Aggies still almost got the Last Word.

(Don't forget....after everything else, we were a single 4th down stop away and an immediate 37 yard field goal from winning.)

Fran has done an outstanding job IMO in making the adjustments from last year to a balanced offense to help our defense that just plain stunk last year....but lets just forget about that part, right? :frown: . And the whole team has bought in....despite the public outcry for their leaders head.

We are 8-2 and we will be in every game in the Big XII this year, except maybe the defending national champions. What the hell more can you ask for for any season in the Big XII?

And write the first 2+ years off to another coaches recruits (which are family, by the way), bad chemistry, bad blood from Alabama, and other stuff I won't mention. 0-8 or whatever the repeated argument is against tu, ou, neb, and tech ain't it.

[Gottagofishin]

Red,

Good points, but I also remember the first score against OU. I believe it was 2nd and 3.

First play: give it to Lane, no gain.
Second play: give it to Lane, TD!

I'm sure Fran thought he could surprise the OU defense, but as you said they are a very good defense.

You've got a guy that is second in the nation in TD's, almost all of which came in goal line situations. You don't abandon your biggest strength in that situation and pin it all on a DB abandoning his asignment with a lone receiver.

[Red]

I'm as frustrated as any. I just can't see how so much has been made of a single play of a single series of an entire game.

Our players are well coached and such a 'tight' group. I just listened to some interviews after the game. One of our DB's is so mature. He said the game was lost not at the 3rd and 2 but after his defense let them have over 100 yards rushing in the first quarter and allowing the Sooners 14 points in the 1st Half.

They have a fantastic group and tremendous chemistry. The program is once again on its way up. Until it peaks or takes a dive...which would probably be after the QB graduating cycle, I hate to see the Coach bashing disrupt the unity.

And they do hear and think about it. The QB has mentioned this in a post game invterview...following the Oklahoma State game if I'm not mistaken.

[Gottagofishin]

The reason so much has been made of this one play is that it came at a crucial moment. One of those times when the brass ring is within reach and Fran didn't have the guts to go for it. In a game like that, you have to go for it when you get the chance. We talk about the Fighting Texas Aggie's, not the Conservative and Safe Texas Aggies.

The players are being good team players and saying what good team players say. But I bet almost everyone of them is privately wondering what the heck Fran was thinking.

It was a horrible decision at a critical moment and everyone knows it. Fran gets paid big bucks and has been doing this for a long time. He knows why he's getting all this criticism. Hopefully he will learn from it. The players will keep doing what players do. Play hard and do their best to execute the play that the coach calls.

I know in the big picture this isn't important and it's the last I'm going to say on it. It was a horrible horrible call and I'm not going to make excuses for it just because I'm an Aggie fan.

That said, I'll be cheering for them just as hard this week.

BTH out of Nebraska!

[the waterman]

Ya'll can keep Franchione, he has no class..... Roll Tide (of course our coach sucks also)
just curious as to why you say he has no class??

[Red]

I disagree that it was a brass ring decision. The defense held, we hit another field goal within a few minutes, and stopped them on 3rd down to get the ball back for another. All of this with the wind in our favor. Bob Stoops made an unconventional 4th down call that no other coach I know would make, and WON the game.

If a non 'hot-seat' coach makes that call and ends up 1 point down at the end of the game and on the brink of winning, no one makes such a hell raising about it. The extra curricular on that single play is a result of other IMO non-warranted, "I could coach this team better" frustrations regarding a team that had won 8 and lost 1.

[dennis_99]

Red,

While our record at the time was 8-1, we obviously had some very close calls down the road to teams we "should have" blown out of the water. How many of those 8 wins came down to the wire? How many of those 8 wins were we trailing early to the likes of Lousiana Tech and/or only able to score field goals early on?

The Ags should be better than that. The talant is there, I'm personally just not convinced that Fran is our guy. I think he may be turning the corner and the team chemistry may be there this year (where it hadn't been in a while) but that team chemistry IMO is a tribute to our on the field leader McGee.

All that being said, despite all the Fran bashing/hating, I support the Ags and him 100%, but as others have said, its just frustrating. Besides, what is our alternative to Fran? Despite all my hate and anger over percieved bonehead decisions; I think he deserves a couple more years.

[squidly]

just curious as to why you say he has no class??Look at the way he left Bama (not saying it was not a mess at Bama - it was) you do not do what he did to his players. He knew what he was getting into when he signed up and left in the middle of the night. He still very hated in Bama-land. Currently what he is doing for A&M is detrimental (yes Shula is doing the same at Bama) and that is not scheduling anybody worth a darn outside of confrence play. It inflates the win column but you did not beat anybody - Missouri did the same thing. I will definitely be rooting for A&M over UT even with Fran as coach. I'm sick of all the bandwagon UT fans.

[Red]

Squidly, thanks for the support. Fran is a personable and intelligent human being and there is a reason for his action. Believe me anyone in his position didn't get there by being afraid to face up to adversity. I am certainly not a guy on the inside of the loop, so I can only offer this as my theory from reading and observing. Leaving a family of recruits for another coaching position is WORSE than between a rock and a hard place. I don't expect it to be completely understood, but it is better than telling your recruits the speech that I am leaving for greener grass while you are stuck here with your own school that you now have to play for who was completely dishonest by not disclosing that Alabama is going on probation, isn't it? If he was going to be a "man" and be direct and honest about it, that is what he would have to say.

He did the same thing at TCU and I expect at each of the other places. If they despise him as a coach after he leaves, more power to the players to get over the loss and on with the next Coach. Wish our situation perhaps could have allowed something similar so our recruits from our previous coach, RC, could have more warmly welcomed their new Coach.

Personally, I think that if the 12th Man doesn't get some more patience, we will divide and conquer each of our coaches/teams pre-maturely and we'll never break the barrier.

[Crossroads]

You Aggies are something else. Ninety percent of the major universities in the country would be celebrating if they were 8-2 right now.

[dennis_99]

When we should have been able to win those two games that we lost; yes its hard to accept.

[flatzman]

Hat's off to the A&M defense. There is a silver lining. They held OU to 3 points in the second half. After the turnover, I thought...well here we go. But they hung tuff and limited to just a field goal. They shut a running game that looked unstopable in the first half. I know it wasn't Adrian Petersen, but it's the same offensive line blocking and the back running back ain't no slouch. They played their hearts out...you can't ask anymore than that.

[Findeep]

There are not too many times that you will hear "Boo's" in unison at an A&M game especially at the coach.

Anyone at the game this past weekend. The CHEERS for R.C. were pretty loud.

[the waterman]

to any of those that were boooing either of the last 2 weekends- you guys are a disgrace to the university in my opinion. If you went to school there you know that was one of the things from day one that was mentioned as being a definite no no. that is one of the things that is supposed to separate us from the other colleges in this great country. If you are not happy with the way things are going then call the athletic dept. and voice your displeasure with them on the phone.

[Clark Griswald]

Tt