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Jimbo Fisher has heard enough criticism of his senior quarterback, and the Florida State coach says Christian Ponder hasn't gotten enough help from his wide receivers.
Fisher said it's time for his receivers to get on the same page as the rest of the team.
''The other guys are doing a good job,'' said Fisher, whose 24th-ranked Seminoles host North Carolina on Saturday. ''The other guys are focused.''
Two-thirds of the way through his first season as a head coach, Fisher called out his receiver corps to step up and make some plays to take some of the pressure off Ponder, who hasn't had a reliable deep threat all season.
For starters, Fisher would be happy if they would simply run good routes.
''It's hard to zip a ball when you're not sure where somebody's going to be and throw with confidence,'' Fisher said. ''If everybody practiced like seven (Ponder wears No. 7) and played like seven, we wouldn't have any issues. The rest of them guys need to take his lead.''
Ponder has thrown three interceptions and lost three fumbles in Florida State's last two games, attracting the ire of some fans who came into the season with high expectations for a player the school was promoting as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
But his longest pass has gone for 38 yards and he's thrown for an average of 172 per game, a big drop-off from last season, when he averaged 302 yards passing until he suffered a season-ending injury at Clemson in the ninth game of the season.
Speedsters Rod Owens and Richard Goodman graduated, and Jarmon Forston was kicked off the team in August, leaving possession receivers Bert Reed and Taiwan Easterling as the only returning wideouts with experience.
Reed leads the Seminoles with 40 catches, but is averaging just 9.8 yards a catch with one TD reception, while Easterling ranks second with 369 yards and two scores on 23 catches.
Sophomore Willie Haulstead has four of the nine touchdowns receptions made by Fisher's wideouts. Rodney Smith, who is 6-foot-6, was supposed to be the next Greg Carr, but has only 15 catches and one touchdown midway through his sophomore season. Carr, who graduated two years ago, had 21 TD catches after his sophomore year at Florida State.
Florida State's wideouts this season have averaged 13.5 catches a game for an average of just over 12 yards a catch and one touchdown a game - numbers that longtime Seminoles great Ron Sellers routinely produced by himself.
And no one knows any better than Fisher and his banged-up quarterback that things will only get tougher for the Seminoles if the receivers don't get things turned around.
The receivers ''have got to make plays,'' Fisher said. ''You've got to get open; you've got to run routes.''
