Tate & Turpin chat: 11 a.m. Monday
Monday, November 9, 2009 - 11:00am
Chat with the hosts of "Saturday Sportsline" and "Monday Morning Quarterback."
Chat with the hosts of "Saturday Sportsline" and "Monday Morning Quarterback."
Any word on the game time for Cincinnati? I've heard 11 AM and I've also heard it might be a night game. Is anything official coming soon?
Nick, we'll learn about Cincy game time 12 days prior, and the choices are 11, noon and 6 p.m., Central time. Loren and Jim
I think Zook should still be let go even if he wins out the rest of the season. why??? Because even when we are winning, we are not dominating and we are still letting the other teams score too much, still too many disciplinary penalty, and mistakes with managing the game; timeouts, time wise. Plus he's not playing the players that I think should be playing more. What do you think???
Halo, Zook has been given a vote of confidence by the athletic director and will almost certainly be back. At this point, the idea of him being fired is not even a consideration. Jim and Loren
Loren,
Guess I should have sent the RIVALSflag prior to the Mizzou game. Happy belated birthday wishes.
Wayne, thanks. Do you have any fullback runs left in you. Loren and Jim
What is up with Mikel Lashoure and not getting enough opportunities even when it seems like he's ultra productive when he can get into a rytham? what happened to Cordale Scott??? Help explain.
Crisco, coach said Saturday that playing time is determined during practice, and Ford practiced better than Leshoure. Both got opportunities, and they are very similar in their talent. We have no idea what happened to Scott. Other guys just beat him out, apparently. Jim and Loren
Loren, any word on what kind of flyover we can expect on Saturday? Also, when do Illinois bowl tickets go on sale?
Flight Fan, we have inside word from the highest authority that there will be 77 humming birds in the flyover in honor of Red Grange ("Tweet tweet") so be on the alert. Bowl tickets will be available at the Rose Bowl in Urbana. Jim and Loren
Watching Sunday's game it appeared the best line-up included Cole at small forward and both Legion and Paul on the bench. It seems to make some sense as he is a better defender than the other two but still gives a three point threat on offense. Since DJ, Demitri, Mike and Mike all can score including a hard working Cole who is defensive minded and does not make mistakes on the offensive end seems to make sense. That way Paul and Legion can come off the bench to provide instant offense when needed. While both are exciting (especially Paul) they were also offensive black holes that appeared to disrupt Mike & Mike's chemistry. Is Cole an option or was it simply coincidence that he was on the court when DJ decided to take over?
Thanks.
Ben, we believe Cole still has a long way to go to make the rotation. Weber is giving him a strong look as he is all the players. Once the regular season starts, we'll know more about the rotation. Paul's athleticism will be hard to overcome at the three. Jim and Loren
Loren, How can you continuously defend Guenther who has a record only better than Indiana during a 17 year tenure? Not to mention he does not devote the resources the program needs and continuously shows he has no clue how to schedule for a school like Illinois. Fire at Zook all you want but Ronald Guenther is Illinois' real problem.
Dave, it is OK with me if you want to blame Guenther for the football record. I simply don't think that way. In my opinion, Guenther has provided more than enough funds for recruiting and physical improvements, and has strongly supported Zook privately. Guenther has accomplished more than the previous six athletic directors combined at Illiois. The scheduling is an entirely different issue. Loren
Different direction here, but play along if you would.
Illinois, for all of our football disappointments, actually a nice track record of running backs in the NFL. Howard Griffith, Robert Holcomb, Jameel Cook, Rashard Mendenhall, Jason Davis, Carey Davis, and now Pierre Thomas at New Orleans.
Who do you think is the best RB of the modern era?
Karl, we feel Mendenhall was the best college back if you take the peak season. Holcombe was better over four years. And Thomas is the best pro as of now. Jim and Loren
If we win one more game is Zook safe for next year? Or is he already safe?
Tom, we feel Zook is already safe. Jim and Loren
Ever since Loren wrote the "He Lives Here" article which called out Zook we have seen a different football team. Loren, have you ever thought about motivational speaking?
Hank, I can safety say, and without reservation, that my letter had nothing to do with anything except get some of the crazies riled up. Loren
When will the Cincinnati game time be set? Why is it so hard to just set a schedule at the begining of the season and stick with it?
Chris, we're waiting to hear about the starting time. Jim and Loren
Jim & Loren, Two Questions:
1] Given current "verbals" and soon to be signed classes in basketball, is this petentionally the best 3-year recruiting run in Illini BB history?
2] Obviously the entire football season would have been turned around if Loren had written an "open letter" sooner or if Ron Guenther had let everyone know Ron Zook was coming back in 2010 sooner. Who deserves the greatest blame? Loren or RG?:-)
Marty, it is hard to compare on era with another. Look at the 1950s. And a lot of it depends on how players turn out.
I'll be happy to take all the blame. Remember, and I repeat, criticism is good. Loren
Hey Loren,
Klee told me to direct this question your way about Big10 basketball arenas.
We all know that any building and its fans can be intimidating and can create great atmosphere, depending on the team. I was wondering which big 10 arenas would be the best atmospheres/fans if all the teams were competitive, etc.
Where would assembly hall rank in this? Obviously, Illini fans are biased. I'm just curious though.
Eddie, polls favor Michigan State during the recent great run of Spartan teams. Indiana seems more intimidating because the fans are nastier. In our opinion, the Assembly Hall does not compare because the seats are so far back, but the Orange Krush does a great job. Jim and Loren
Jim and Loren, thanks for taking the time to chat. How many more wins do you think Zook needs to save his job? One? Two?
If we get a couple of wins, do you still think we see wholesale changes with the assistants after the season?
Jimmy, Zook doesn't need any more wins, and yes, there'll be changes among the assistants next year. Jim and Loren
Loren -
How often do you communicate with RG privately (and not print anything for awhile)?
TOm, very seldom. Loren
loren,
what did you think of minnesota's new stadium? do you like minneapolis? i think its kind of hard to get around.
Karen, we didn't attend Saturday so we can't answer. The other guys who went seemed to like it. Jim and Loren
I heard the Illini were working on a 2-2-1 press but did not see any kind of press yesterday against Quincy. Do you think we will see any type of full or half court type of zone press this year?
Bill, we've had questions along this line for years and the Illini haven't pressed for any length of time, although it certainly helped rally the team against Northwestern last year, and on a few other occasions. Weber's main goal is to have good half-court defense. Maybe with more athletes this year, Weber will consider it. Jim and Loren
Coach Weber sounded critical of Davis after the game last night, but I actually thought Davis did everything except score. He was very active on defense, hustled, and did a nice job helping run the offense without shooting. I'm sure we'd like to see him get more than four shots, but, with the plethora of other scorers we have in the lineup, shouldn't it be more gratifying to see Davis do the small things really well?
James, pardon us for wondering, but how did a guy in Boston see the game? In our opinion, we need Davis to be more aggressive and score in double figures. Weber feels Davis is not playing with the level of emotion and aggressiveness needed of him, and basically said that about all the veterans. Jim and Loren
Football - with recent play of the Illini, if they play the way they have in the 2 wins, what do you feel the chances are that they beat NW this week?
Basketball - what is your opinion on who deserves/get the start in the season opener on Friday against the sister school of SIU?
Recruiting - there are rumblings that Illinois is still in it with some top talents in football....are you hearing anything?
What do you think that chances are that the Illini get Beal at this point?
Thank You Very Much!
River City, it's a tossup game with a lot of it depending on the health of the quarterbacks on both sides. It would be nice if Illinois could match Northwestern's emotion for a change.
The basketball lineup is incidental at this point. We like Paul over Legion at the three, and the other four are obvious, Mike and Mike and Demetri and D.J. But Weber doesn't expect to have a lineup before December.
We are watching, like everyone else, to see where football recruiting goes, particularly with the UI's best committed recruits visiting elsewhere.
The Beal thing seems to be close to 50-50 but, with Kansas involved, it never pays to be optimistic. Jim and Loren
Wouldn't it be nice if the Illini football team could put together two good halves. Last week it was a poor first half and a good second half. this week it was a good first half and a poor second half. They might have a couple more wins if they could put two together in one game. Did it seem like Zook and co. went in to their conservative mode in the second half against Minn.? It looked like they were playing not to lose in the second half as compared to the first half when they appeared to be attacking. Why not keep playing like they did in the first half. Your thoughts
Jake, everybody tends to look like they're in a conservative mode when they have a 28-7 lead. It is universal. It is hard to change human nature. Jim and Loren
I checked out the Star tribune after Saturdays game. i did realize how much hot water Brewster was in up there. Are there any fans in this conference that don't wan't their coaches fired?
DW, most fans are negative when their team loses. Jim and Loren
are you more optimistic about Illinois football for 2010 after not just seeing the wins but the progress of Charest, Leshoure and Hawthorne?
Tom. No. Jim and Loren
Did the Illini alter their coverage in the second half Saturday or did Minny finally find the whole in the coverage? A lot of those first half sacks seemed to have been coverage related.
Sorry guys, we've run over again. Thanks for the questions. Wish we had more answers. Jim and LOren