ZIPS TO GO 5-5 THIS SEASON

[Guest ZIPMAN]

YO DAWGS!

J.D. HAS STILL A LOT OF BAGGAGE LEFT OVER FROM OWENS. THE MAN, J.D., HAD LITTLE OPPORTUNITY TO DO ANY SOLID RECRUITING.............SO WERE STUCK WITH OWEN'S "LEFT-OVERS"..........I'LL BE HAPPY WITH A .500 SEASON CONSIDERING WHAT J.D. HAS TO WORK WITH....THANKS LEE FOR EVERYTHING.

ARE YOU FEELIN ME?

DA ZIPMAN

[RatFink]

ZIPMAN has exposed himself as a Cant State grad. Pretty tough to go

5-5 in an ELEVEN game season.

To claim that JD will only equal what LO would have accomplished really

sells JD short.

The offense should be at least 80% of last year's.

The defense this fall looks to be greatly improved over the LO era.

I say 8-3 with a victory over PSU or Virginia to sweeten the season.

Do the deal, Charlie.

[Big Zip]

Ratfink -- who's going to catch the ball for Charlie? I wasn't at the Blue Gold game, but I've got to think our receiving corps. are not as good as last year. I think Charlie is going to have a tough year -- I hope the offensive line starts to block this year -- the poor guy got murderedd last year and the o-line was terrible. Sorry 0-line Zip, but that was one of the worst excuses for a veteran line this team has ever seen. If you believe the defense is going to be greatly improved -- which I believe is possible -- this team could make great strides. I think this team can conceivably go 8-3 -- a much more respectable 8 wins than last year's 7. With Rothlesberger gone you have to think Miami at home is winnable, JD will not allow a let down against Can't, N. Ill. lost Turner and a few other key players and should be winnable, Marshall is always winnable at the Rubber Bowl, OU/Buffalo/MTSU should be wins too. Ball State has played inconsistently the last few years and if can show up there 3-2 with momentum I see a win. It will be interesting to see if O'Leary does anything with UCF and although it would be nice PSU and Virginia are going to be tough games -- games that might not be winnable in JD's first year.

[Dr Z]

who's going to catch the ball for Charlie?

Hixon & Co.

I don't think we will match the talent at the wide out position of last year.

BUT I don't think you will have to worry about receivers. Of all people, JD will

make recievers out of whoever. Look at his track record with receivers.

Don't forget about the TE this year. I predict good things for D. Basch this year.

Tight Ends thrive in JD's offense.

If you were at the Blue/Gold game you would have seen Hixon's talent at WR. He looked GOOD.

Here is a telling quote by Hixon found on Gozips.com

"He always puts it on the numbers, so all I have to do is catch it."

Good QB's make WRs. Charlie is a good one.

[Guest Pro Scout]

Akron will be lucky to win 5 games next season. This is not a CYO schedule like last season, no 1-AA teams to run up the score on. Virginia and Penn State replace Howard and Cal Poly. The MAC crossovers are not the jokes of the past two seasons as Ball State and Northern Illinois replace Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. This alone puts 4 games into play which were automatic wins last season.

Now take away Sparks, Irvin, Cherry, Brake, Hendry, and Cummins from the offense. Who is Frye going to throw to?

There is no way that Akron's players, regardless of coaches, is going to win a majority of the games they play.

Can't State, Buffalo, Ball State, Ohio, UCF and Middle Tennessee State are in play. MTSU may have the best talent of any Akron opponent outside of Penn State and Virginia. First game at home gives the edge to Akron.

Miami, Marshall, Virginia, Northern Illinois and Penn State are pretty much solid losses for Akron. Penn State may be down but so is Akron. Frye cannot tackle and Akron has added no one who can make plays off the edge, up the middle, or in the secondary. No one has stepped up in the past who is still on the roster and newcomers wont be an impact in their first game.

I think this team will get better and better as the season wears on. The Marshall game and the Miami game could swing to Akron's side of the spreadsheet but the smart bet is that Akron will also lose a game early that most folks will assume is an automatic win. Split the difference and a 5-6 season would be a smart wager.

Just because a coaching change was made does not mask the lack of any recruiting for the past 3 years. There is a lot of dead weight on scholarship based on what I saw this past Saturday. This group of coaches is a pro-type group and with the new facilities should be able to build a base in the next 2-3 recruiting classes. I expect Akron to be near the top of the MAC by year 3 of the Brookhart tenure, if not in 2005.

[zipsbandman]

I agree with all your concerns about the offense. The offense looked sloppy during the spring football game. I was shocked with the terrible effort given by the o-line, and you can tell that the experience at wideout is not there. However, the fact that we still have #5 can mean more than you think. You can bet that he will get guys together over the summer and work on the offense so that when camp opens up again, they will know what they are doing. JD is right, 5 is like having an extra coach.

The defense is showing a lot of promise. JD said that his D would rush to the ball, and they are. (Hey, a coach that actually sticks with his word!) If we can get our offense to about 80% of what it was last year, then I think we can put together a respectable season. I'd rather see us play Penn State the first game than Can't State, since it helps to get our team ready for games they should win, instead of playing the lower teams early on and being upset.

[Guest Zips Fan]

Pro Scout, your just mad because your nephew didn't and will not make the NFL. deal with it, your dreams are over. get off the zips back and go back Can't State with Nick. The zips will be a lot better then you think 9-2 and mac champs.

[JP Morgan]

Pro Scout is not completely off the mark. We very well could be 0-3 at the end of September. It's tough to recover from 0-3.

That being said, I really hope to see a more "fit" team than we've seen in past years. Size and speed does matter, especially against the Penn State's and Virginia's of the world.

It's been a while since I've thought that the Zips were shorthanded on talent. I don't believe we are this year. I'm really interested to see how this coaching staff affects this team. You see some programs go from bottom to top in a matter of 1-2 years when a new coach comes in. Look at BG. Lets hope it happens here and we shock the MAC!

Hey ProScout, what do you mean by this:

Frye cannot tackle

How do you know this and do we really want him to?

[Zipsrifle]

No predictions yet. I think I'm going to wait and see how much these guys want it. They can either bust their Ars over summer or sit back and take it easy. JD had dumped a lot of stuff on these guys and if they aren't going to put the time in, it's going to be rough early on. I'm sure that JD had done his best, time to punt to the player.

[Captain Kangaroo]

DA ZIPMAN begins an interesting thread!

My thoughts...hand on a Bible...Sodium Pentathol drip has begun...no BS...

Zips defense will be better than last season, and by A LOT. Yes, Owen's recruiting on the defensive side...hell, on EVERY side...was far from chamiponship caliber the past 3 years. But, there are solid defensive players remaining who, with the proper coaching, can be molded into a Top-6 MAC defense. That's all our offense will need to be successful in the MAC in 2004. Where is our D worse off personnel-wise in 2004 (than 2003)? No where. DL talent level remains the same. LB's should be better. Secondary should be much better...and the coaching coaching MUST be better...right?

How far will the Zips offense "fall" in 2004 (from 2003?) In my opinion, not too far. Receivers: Hixson is rock solid...great hands and speed. Like Dr. Z said, D-Basch is solid at TE (missed the spring game with a concussion). Montgomery also missed the spring game with an injury, but is a good wide-out. Ellington is "servicable". Jabari could be awesome, but has a lot to learn. And watch true frosh Johnny Long. I swear this kid is the steal of the 2004 signing class! We will have 2-3 solid wide-outs in 2004, with a solid TE. With Frye throwing to them, we'll be fine. So it'll be like when we had Lavel and Jake, instead of Cherry-Sparks-Irvin...it'll be different, not as "deep," but still highly effective. Effective running of the ball will help too, which brings me to...

RB: Ringer should be a fine replacement for Hendry, and Vaughns looks good too. Another Zip that didn't play in the spring game is Dan Basch. He'll be ready to go in the fall. The JUCO RB has nice credentials, and hopefully the kid from Oil City is good? RB summary: We're WAAAY deeper at RB than in 2003, when we essentially had 1 RB. Hendry's running should be more than adequately replaced. Will his blocking? I don't think his blocking (pass protection) skills will be missed IF the OL coach gets all the OL's on the same page...AND creates some better blocking schemes. Also, I'll assume JD watched the 2003 tapes and has decided putting Frye in the shotgun EVERY SINGLE PLAY makes it pretty easy for DL's to pin their ears back and tee off on a QB? Hendry's blocking was needed in 2004 because the offensive shemes demanded it. The shemes that contributed to Frye getting pummeled in 2004 will be addressed. JD is a tape "junkie," and he knows the score.

QB: Frye could have me, Dr. Z and ZFF as his 3 wide outs and still throw for 2,500 yards. It'll be nice to have Jabari and Fergie as available back ups, so Charlie can catch his breath once in a while. Nothing to write about Charlie that hasn't already been written.

Schedule:

PSU - SHOULD we win? No. CAN we win...hell yes. Penn State is a bottom-feeder Big 10 school. If we jump on them early, they'll pee their pants. This is CF's day to put the team on his back and carry them to glory. Leftwitch, R-berger, Harris... all had their "signiture" days...this is Charlie's. Zips 27-Penn State 24 (remember, these clowns only scored 32 points on Can't last season, beating them 32-10?)

MTSU: A good team, but one we should beat at home. Zips 34-24

UVA: Too much depth to overcome: UVA 45-29

Can't: Zips 52-31

NIU: NIU 17-16. NIU is solid, even with Turner's departure.

Buffalo: Zips 42-14

UCF: Zips 35-28. O'Leary and Brookhart are in the same position...but the Zips are further ahead at this point.

Ball State: Zips 24-23. BSU can't be Frye in the Rubber Bowl.

Marshall: Zips 24 Marshall 12. Bad coaching and lack of defense killed us against Marshall in the past. This time, the NFL-bound QB is on our side. And, the NCAA sanctions have affected the Herd's depth. "This isn't your father's Herd (Oldsmobile)."

OU: OU 21-20. Zips can't win all the games they "should," and playing in Athens is always tough for us.

Miami: Zips 31-21. No way Charlie goes 0-4 against Miami. Bet the farm on it.

8-3? Seems a bit high? Of course PSU is a "reach," but CF gives us a shot. I say 6-5 is expected.

7-4 is possible if the staff is as good as we hope they are.

8-3 is possible because we have the best QB in the MAC in our backfield. Great MAC QB's always seem to carry their teams far in this league.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Hey ProScout, what do you mean by this:

Frye cannot tackle

How do you know this and do we really want him to?

I think what he means is "Frye can't do it all." I remember after the 2003 opener (Can't) someone asked Owens what he'd do differently if he could re-play the last 6 minutes of theKent game. He said he'd have stuck Charlie in (on defense) because "...he'd have made a *expletive* play!"

[Z-P]

In case you're wondering where I'm at, well here I am.

Before I "go to the window" and plunk down my bets, I want to see more.

I'm not used to coaching changes up close and personal. I think and hope so much is changing for the better, and so much more needs to be done, that I just can't predict with any accuracy what next seasons outcome will be. Check me out the last week of August after some late summer peeks at what's going on.

Oops.............one rock solid prediction I will make is that we'll play 11 games not 10.

[ZipDude]

Ah and so it begins......predictions and redelictions, prognostications, puffing and just plain bullshitting. I think we all can agree that we want the Zips to win. We need the Zips to win. The gas tank is still relatively full and aside from the player losses on O this should be the year. Notwithstanding the Fryesman campaign, 5 needs some W's to enhance his shot at the next level.

The receivers are not last years receivers but they will get better. Now that the staff has had 15 practices they know, opr should know their talent level a bit better. They will work the guys from a conditioning standpoint and get them ready for summer camp.

I hope for some surprises and those to be of the pleasant variety. I hope for some W's over unexpected opponents and W's from those that are expected.

I am a little worried about the Oline. What I saw last Saturday was not encouraging. I dont know if it is coaching or performance however. Time will tell.

[Zipsrifle]

  "This isn't your father's Herd (Oldsmobile)."

Speaking of Olds....the last one was built today.

[Z.I.P.]

Some people might present the following question: If this team isn't improved over last year's (8 wins+??), then why did we all dump on the coach?

That's a reasonable question, and I hope those who were most vociferously anti-Owens are anticipating more wins. My feelings were, we won as many games as could have been expected last year, but were on a plateau with Lee and needed to find a way to move up long-term. So I still agree with Da Boss's move.

That said, I also will be very disappointed if we move backwards and fail to give .500 a real run (i.e., 5+ wins entering the 11th game). Then again, the schedule is markedly improved, and I would call 6-5 a better season than last year's 7-5. Here are some game goals: It's very important that we win at least one of the two home games vs MAC East favorites MU & MU. If we lose both of those, the season will be a failure unless we beat both PSU AND UVA. Another important goal: We can't give up or get creamed late like happened vs Cant St & UW. I think the two MU games are the best chances to spring upsets. PSU third. And the games to look out for, Ball U and UB. Don't be surprised if the Bulls pull a surprise like the BB team and become the most improved team in the MAC. Can't State becomes the new #13. But that may change in 05!

[zipper]

To compare apples to apples, the question you'd have to ask is what would JD and Co. have done with last year's talent and last year's schedule. We can obviously never know the answer to that question, much as we might all speculate. But from what I've heard, the PLAYERS believe this coaching staff is much better, from Charlie on down.

There is no way around next fall's tougher schedule. If there's one position we could stand to be "down" in at the beginning of this season, it's WR, just because JD obviously knows how to develop raw talent into great receivers.

I'll say one thing - I've been introduced to JD and heard him speak a couple of times. He is all business. After LO I find this refreshing, but I always bought into Lee's hype and thought every year was going to be "the" year. I guess I'm glad to be going into a football season with no expectations, for once. I support the new staff, and I have to say it feels kind of good to not have a fear of a letdown, yet again. I won't be surprised if we win several more than we lose, but at least I'm not set up for a fall, either.

[JP Morgan]

QUOTE (JP Morgan @ Apr 29 2004, 11:30 AM)

Hey ProScout, what do you mean by this:

QUOTE 

Frye cannot tackle 

How do you know this and do we really want him to?

I think what he means is "Frye can't do it all." I remember after the 2003 opener (Can't) someone asked Owens what he'd do differently if he could re-play the last 6 minutes of theKent game. He said he'd have stuck Charlie in (on defense) because "...he'd have made a *expletive* play!"

Guess I totally missed the sarcasm?