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There has been a lot of J.D. bashing going on (not from me), so I wanted to start highlighting some of the good.J.D. took over the special teams this year and has done a fantastic job. Remember the anxiety during extra points last year, now Igor may break the single season FG record. Special teams has produced the most exciting plays this year. Bryan Williams will likely be leading the NCAA on K.O. returns after this week and Andre Jones is in the tops on punt returns.There are more good things going on, lets see if anyone else would like to highlight a few.One other comment in J.D's defense.......I have said this before, but you cannot discount how important the assistant coaches are to the team. That is where we have lost ground this year. J.D. has had a revolving door of good coaches since he has been here. It would be nice to get some stability in those ranks. How about this as an idea, get Paul Winters back as Offensive Coordinator to get him primed for taking over one day.Nice win, love to see him get fired up defending one of our players.

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There has been a lot of J.D. bashing going on (not from me), so I wanted to start highlighting some of the good.J.D. took over the special teams this year and has done a fantastic job. Remember the anxiety during extra points last year, now Igor may break the single season FG record. Special teams has produced the most exciting plays this year. Bryan Williams will likely be leading the NCAA on K.O. returns after this week and Andre Jones is in the tops on punt returns.There are more good things going on, lets see if anyone else would like to highlight a few.One other comment in J.D's defense.......I have said this before, but you cannot discount how important the assistant coaches are to the team. That is where we have lost ground this year. J.D. has had a revolving door of good coaches since he has been here. It would be nice to get some stability in those ranks. How about this as an idea, get Paul Winters back as Offensive Coordinator to get him primed for taking over one day.Nice win, love to see him get fired up defending one of our players.
I agree with the assistant coaching issue. But, keep in mind that Akron doesn't pay very well. That is one factor that takes coaches to new places. Additionally, Winters....he had a great run as the OC with the LO staff, but I don't think he's the direction to move in towards the next head coach. Being the OC and the head coach are two different worlds. JD was a great OC at Pitt. In Winters' three seasons as the HC at D-2 Wayne State his teams were 3-7, 6-5, and now 3-7 with one game left in 2007. Great guy, great Akron alum, but not the route the Zips should ever consider taking.
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I don't get all the hubbub regarding getting an "Akron Guy" as "the next head coach." First of all I don't get "the next head coach" thing. Don't we already have a coach? Any decent AD keeps his ear to the ground regarding coaching prospects regardless of who he's already got. But JD has 3 years left on his contract. He's 100% coming back for next season. And unless he really blows it...and we look like we did @ BG last week for a good portion of 2008...JD would probably get a 1 year contract extension at the end of next season. "Akron Guy?" Who cares if the guy is from Akron or not? Why limit your coaching talent pool from "Any Available Coach in the United State" to "Any Available Akron Alumni Coach." Give me a coach that wins and can recruit. I could care less where his degree is from.Winters? I agree with the guy above: Great guy. Has Akron in his heart. I think getting him in the fold somehow would do a lot for getting the football alumni organized. But we can do better than a 3-8 Wayne State coach as our HC. Even as a coordinator...the guy could never make the play call to ice a game. Or get a TD when we really needed it. In that situation we always punted...and the opponent subsequently pushed our D down the field and beat us. I've seen enough of that.JD is my coach. He's not perfect, but any problems I've had with him seem to be being addressed. His recruiting strategy didn't pan out, so he changed and still brought in a #1 rated class. He changed from a CJ7-centric run-fest at BG to a gunslinging, wide open attack vs OU this week. He's a young coach that seems to be adapting and getting better. I'm interested to see what he does in the off-season with his staff. And in landing a top QB recruit.BTW -- I think JD's salary is about 1/2 of Solich's...and he's 3-1 against him.

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Leading up to this game I was very hard on J.D. But I must say I loved what I saw last night. He had a fire in his eyes from the start. He was out on the field cheering, yelling and teaching his players. I think the players feed off of this and had an extra hop in thier step. I hope we see much more of this type of coaching in the future.

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Last year, JD complained about a lack of leaders on the field. There was no one that could inspire the team to play their hearts out. It looks like JD figured out that as the head coach it's his job to be the leader. Some players can emulate his leadership on the field, but ultimately it has to start with him. JD is still learning as a head coach. At the very least he deserves at least one more year to get this team together. If we get another collapse, then we need to seriously start thinking about other options. After all, we will have the nicest facilities in the country that can be used as a recruiting tool for a new coach, if needed, but I don't think it will come to that.How many MAC teams have been consistently good over the past four years? None. Akron is close to doing it, but right now, there are no teams that are good for that long, and most have a monumental collapse of a season somewhere in between the seven or eight win seasons. We have been consistently average the last four years. That's a step up from jumping from 8-4 to 4-8 and then 9-3 and 2-10 like some teams do every other year. We have found a formula to avoid the really terrible seasons, and now we have a base to build upon and improve slowly in incremental steps. JD can do it and the team seems to grow as he grows as a head coach. When he regresses, so does the team. When he has that fire in his eyes like last night, well, you have seen what can happen.

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I must say I loved what I saw last night. He had a fire in his eyes from the start. He was out on the field cheering, yelling and teaching his players. I think the players feed off of this and had an extra hop in thier step. I hope we see much more of this type of coaching in the future.
Your going to love our new defensive coordinator next year ZFF, I can't mention a name right now,but my insiders tell me he is going to bring a defense like the mac has never seen. cowher.jpg
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c/k i totally disagree.i guess you prefer to score 18 pt/gm.bring winters in as the o/c .when winters was here this team could score points.it was not his fault the defense was so bad.it has nothing to do with him being an akron guy.all i know is that our offense now is not even close to what it was when he was here.akron was always in the top twenty in scoring.if you took jd's defense/special teams the offense when he was here we would not be 4-6.

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Last night showed the type of coach JD can be. He is indeed a good coach and the best we have had, by far, during the D 1-A era. The consistency of the team will improve with the consistency of the coaching.The offense was much more excitiing to watch last night. With the exception of the interception, CJ11 looked good (Note to CJ11: When blocking, use the left side of your body). Maybe the foot in the @$$ last week was what he need to snap him out of whatever funk he was in. The play calling was much different and had OU off balance most of the night.Player development. This coaching staff has taken a young offensive line and turned it into a solid group that is only going to get better in the future. There should be more posted on this board about the improvement in the OL this season compared to last. The coaching staff has recognized it is a young group and has changed blocking schemes to help them. That's good coaching. I hope I can say the same thing next year about the secondary.Leadership. JD figured out this year that it isn't the NFL. In the NFL, the players lead the team. In college, they players are too young to really lead a team and need an "adult" to lead them. JD has to continue to do what he did last night.Recruiting. JD does the job he is asked to do recruiting. He goes after good players and brings good players to Akron. JD can't coach, watch film, recruit, fundraise, etc. and be a tutor to the players. He needs the University to make a commitment to helping him retain the players he brings in with a good academic support program.Staff. The pay at Akron is horrible for assistants. When Jim Prye leaves Akron to go coach tight ends at Illinois and makes more money than JD, there is a problem funding good coaches. 2-3 coaches will leave at the end of the year again this year.I like JD. I want him to stay and be successful. I don't think any of us agree with 100% of what he does. Some on this board wanted to run him out after his first five games at UofA and won't give him credit for doing anything. That's fine, but that thinking is sad on many levels. JD isn't some salesman who just walked off the street and got the job at Akron. He has NFL and major college coaching experience under his belt and knows more football than all of us put together. We are lucky to at least have someone here with that experience. Does that make me a JD apologist? Maybe......If so, I can live with it.Good job last night JD! :cheers:

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c/k i totally disagree.i guess you prefer to score 18 pt/gm.bring winters in as the o/c .when winters was here this team could score points.it was not his fault the defense was so bad.it has nothing to do with him being an akron guy.all i know is that our offense now is not even close to what it was when he was here.akron was always in the top twenty in scoring.if you took jd's defense/special teams the offense when he was here we would not be 4-6.
That offense never put up points when it mattered. Winters is not the answer.The only "Akron guy" qualified to coach the team is Mike Johnson. He is a former QB and the WR coach for the Ravens. Zero college experience. NFL position coaches make in the neighborhood of $250,000 to $400,000 per year. He would laugh at the salary.
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I'd like to see more UA football alums that have exibited the traits valued for coaching be offered Grad Assistant positions. Let them spend time here and maybe move on and come back when we need them. Do we have anybody out there now besides Winters that can help? I'm certainly not advocating getting rid of JD, but he does need some new blood (preferably Blue and Gold) on his staff.

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Last night showed the type of coach JD can be. He is indeed a good coach and the best we have had, by far, during the D 1-A era. The consistency of the team will improve with the consistency of the coaching.The offense was much more excitiing to watch last night. With the exception of the interception, CJ11 looked good (Note to CJ11: When blocking, use the left side of your body). Maybe the foot in the @$$ last week was what he need to snap him out of whatever funk he was in. The play calling was much different and had OU off balance most of the night.Player development. This coaching staff has taken a young offensive line and turned it into a solid group that is only going to get better in the future. There should be more posted on this board about the improvement in the OL this season compared to last. The coaching staff has recognized it is a young group and has changed blocking schemes to help them. That's good coaching. I hope I can say the same thing next year about the secondary.Leadership. JD figured out this year that it isn't the NFL. In the NFL, the players lead the team. In college, they players are too young to really lead a team and need an "adult" to lead them. JD has to continue to do what he did last night.Recruiting. JD does the job he is asked to do recruiting. He goes after good players and brings good players to Akron. JD can't coach, watch film, recruit, fundraise, etc. and be a tutor to the players. He needs the University to make a commitment to helping him retain the players he brings in with a good academic support program.Staff. The pay at Akron is horrible for assistants. When Jim Prye leaves Akron to go coach tight ends at Illinois and makes more money than JD, there is a problem funding good coaches. 2-3 coaches will leave at the end of the year again this year.I like JD. I want him to stay and be successful. I don't think any of us agree with 100% of what he does. Some on this board wanted to run him out after his first five games at UofA and won't give him credit for doing anything. That's fine, but that thinking is sad on many levels. JD isn't some salesman who just walked off the street and got the job at Akron. He has NFL and major college coaching experience under his belt and knows more football than all of us put together. We are lucky to at least have someone here with that experience. Does that make me a JD apologist? Maybe......If so, I can live with it.Good job last night JD! :cheers:
B)B) OK lets ALL come back to earth here..thank god for Bryan Willaims, he makes Brookhart, the staff and the rest of the players look better...haven't seen that much speed since Dwight Smith was here...Williams has a chance to play on Sunday...as some of us said a couple weeks ago, lets wait until 11-23-07 and evaluate the ENTIRE season...not just a few games...lets see if the coaches and players have REALLY turned the corner or if OU was a one shot deal...the sad thing is that if the ZIPS had hung on to the Temple game, they would be going to Oxford with a shot at the division...lets see if Brookhart and his staff can get them ready when they are literally playing only for pride...
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I'd like to see more UA football alums that have exibited the traits valued for coaching be offered Grad Assistant positions. Let them spend time here and maybe move on and come back when we need them. Do we have anybody out there now besides Winters that can help? I'm certainly not advocating getting rid of JD, but he does need some new blood (preferably Blue and Gold) on his staff.
Brett Biggs...he is still at Akron..
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B)
Last night showed the type of coach JD can be. He is indeed a good coach and the best we have had, by far, during the D 1-A era. The consistency of the team will improve with the consistency of the coaching.The offense was much more excitiing to watch last night. With the exception of the interception, CJ11 looked good (Note to CJ11: When blocking, use the left side of your body). Maybe the foot in the @$$ last week was what he need to snap him out of whatever funk he was in. The play calling was much different and had OU off balance most of the night.Player development. This coaching staff has taken a young offensive line and turned it into a solid group that is only going to get better in the future. There should be more posted on this board about the improvement in the OL this season compared to last. The coaching staff has recognized it is a young group and has changed blocking schemes to help them. That's good coaching. I hope I can say the same thing next year about the secondary.Leadership. JD figured out this year that it isn't the NFL. In the NFL, the players lead the team. In college, they players are too young to really lead a team and need an "adult" to lead them. JD has to continue to do what he did last night.Recruiting. JD does the job he is asked to do recruiting. He goes after good players and brings good players to Akron. JD can't coach, watch film, recruit, fundraise, etc. and be a tutor to the players. He needs the University to make a commitment to helping him retain the players he brings in with a good academic support program.Staff. The pay at Akron is horrible for assistants. When Jim Prye leaves Akron to go coach tight ends at Illinois and makes more money than JD, there is a problem funding good coaches. 2-3 coaches will leave at the end of the year again this year.I like JD. I want him to stay and be successful. I don't think any of us agree with 100% of what he does. Some on this board wanted to run him out after his first five games at UofA and won't give him credit for doing anything. That's fine, but that thinking is sad on many levels. JD isn't some salesman who just walked off the street and got the job at Akron. He has NFL and major college coaching experience under his belt and knows more football than all of us put together. We are lucky to at least have someone here with that experience. Does that make me a JD apologist? Maybe......If so, I can live with it.Good job last night JD! :cheers:
B) the definition of leadership is 'the abilty to keep one's wits when all about you are losing theirs'...
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Yes, much better team effort all the way around. I LOVED seeing the BW/AA hammering-- that was the big difference in the game I think and hopefully a preview of what the next few years could be like. It would be like Mack and Byner. I was really impressed with the way BW picked the holes and then hit them-- and of course I am also wondering why he wasn't the feature back from game 1. And it was incredible to see AA break it on the left side for a big gainer and just miss the end zone. Where was THAT the rest of the season??Another big difference in the game was Kas and some others actually catching the passes thrown their way, such as for the TD.As far as JD, he clearly was fired up to be home and felt pressure to show something. I loved that he was (rightly) fired up about the hit on Jones and think the rest of the team fed off of that. Again, where was THAT the rest of the season??We did a great job of containing their great RB and were fortunate that their QB suuucked-- he just missed alot of opportunities towards the end of the game when we seemed to be losing focus.The jury is still out for me on JD-- but I think getting a solid win eliminates any chance that they would term him this season (assuming Miami is not a total debacle). Last season was a massive disappointment (partially due to overly inflated expectations, granted) and this season is, well, what this season was. However, I don't think he survives another aimless, meandering season with major breakdowns in discipline and long periods of implosion. I really want to be a big supporter-- really and truly. But next year needs to show real improvement in all aspects and not just more 'whack a mole' by JD (that is, being able to only focus on the burning issues while everything else moves sideways).

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i would love see more of alex allen.i think jd needs to be careful and not ware out b.williams,andkeep him healthy.the guy is not the biggest rb in the world.plus we need him on special team.plus i know kennedy is not everyone's favorite back,but he does add alott of depth at rb.i think you saw what having a fresh running back a.a. late in the game can do.

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First, let me say that I am generally happy with JD at the moment. He is developing a program that should be ready to compete at the top of the MAC at the same time we move into the new stadium. If it does not happen and the plug is pulled, my vote would be for an Akron man. And let me be the first to throw out the name of Bobby Johnson. Currently he is at Indiana as OL coach and running game coordinator. He is from Akron - Hoban. Played in the MAC at Miami and coached there (Cradle of Coaches). GA at Akron. Wife is also from Akron.

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J.D. took over the special teams this year and has done a fantastic job. Remember the anxiety during extra points last year, now Igor may break the single season FG record. Special teams has produced the most exciting plays this year. Bryan Williams will likely be leading the NCAA on K.O. returns after this week and Andre Jones is in the tops on punt returns.I agree, our special teams, except for our punting game, are doing quite well, especially the return teams. But I want to clear something up. JD has been the special teams coach since he got here. He just declared it for this season. But I still think he should let an assistant or two take over the special teams and let JD free to manage the entire team.

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J.D. took over the special teams this year and has done a fantastic job. Remember the anxiety during extra points last year, now Igor may break the single season FG record. Special teams has produced the most exciting plays this year. Bryan Williams will likely be leading the NCAA on K.O. returns after this week and Andre Jones is in the tops on punt returns.I agree, our special teams, except for our punting game, are doing quite well, especially the return teams. But I want to clear something up. JD has been the special teams coach since he got here. He just declared it for this season. But I still think he should let an assistant or two take over the special teams and let JD free to manage the entire team.
BRYAN WILLIAMS has done a fantastic job..notice when Dennis Kennedy is in things don't move quite as far?!
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"I'm a believer, but it was just one game! Not even a whole game btw, they looked bad until about 8 minutes in."That's when we took CJ7 out and put CJ11 in the game. He came in and things got going and the offense seemed to get in a groove. It's funny how everyone was bashing CJ11 and wanted CJ7 and nobody's noting how they ate their words. CJ7 didnt lose the job because of attitude or off-the-field problems... He's just not a good quarterback, plain and simple.

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It is no secret I have been disappointed with the way this team gave up at the Temple game and didn't show up in BG. With that in mind I was impressed with the passion the Zips played with this week and will look forward to it continuing this week. IF this team can win at Miami (a tough feat for Akron teams whenever we play them) I will be impressed with the change -- hopefully JD heard his critics and saw the need for a sense of urgency.CJ11's performance makes one stop to wonder what the BG game would have looked like with him in there. CJ7 is an excellent athlete, but he is NOT a quarterback. I hope those of you screaming for him all throughout the year see that now. This has been CJ11's first year playing QB at the Div. 1 level and if the last game was a sign of his ability we should start to figure out where CJ7 is going to play in 2008. Igor is the main difference on special teams -- call it coaching if you want, but when Igor signed to come hear we were all pretty excited with his potential. If I recall he was a top (nationally) kicking recruit. If he can kick like this year for all four years -- we look to be in good shape at that position. Note -- his former teammate at Mentor Kevin Harper (he of the record setting 61 yard field goal) has been offered by Can't.Another former Mentor teammate Bart Tanski (QB) doesn't have any Div. 1 offers and has run the spread offense since the 7th grade. If you haven't had a chance to seem he play I think he's pretty impressive, just too short (maybe 6-1) for the most schools. Would love to see him and Tyler Shutz (WR) in Akron Blue and Gold next year.The defense looked more alive this week too. They changed things up and got pressure on the QB -- not to mention smothered the running game after the first quarter. If we had DBs that could cover anyone this defense could be scary. The DBs get my vote for most disappointing of 2007. I thought they were the strong suite of our defense and have turned out being the weak link. It could be scheme, but guys running free in secondary week after week looks to me like poor DB play.GP1 Would love to see some supporting data around pro football position coaches making that kind of money. The last I remember reading people were up in arms when Dan Snyder decided to pay his offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator $1 million each. Those are coordinator positions with a free spending coach. I do think the difference between the NFL and College coaching comes down to the atmosphere you want to be a part of and would love to see Mike Johnson return to his alma mater at some point. His knowledge and experience would certainly play well with young impressionable college age kids.GO Zips be the preppies!

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