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http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/ua-soccer-sophomore-captain-adam-najem-adjusts-game-to-lead-young-zips-1.540391

I totally agree with Dave. Lee has been providing some great commentary and is much more eloquent than I. A number of us have been irate with the way things are going and have grown very impatient with those telling us that we are on the right path. . .that Bowden is the best coach Akron could ever hope of getting. . .that the defense is good. . .that being critical of Bowden is unacceptable. . .yada, yada, yada. Bottom line is this. You are what your record says you are. Our record says we are a bad football team. I started watching football in 1974. I was 6 years old. My life revolved around collecting Topps football cards and watching games on Sundays to see the guys on the cards play. In my 40 years I have heard way too many times to count that the hallmark of a well coached football team is that they improve every week. When I played ball in high school our coach preached to us over and over and over again that we had to get better every week. If we stayed the same we were going backwards because everybody else was going to get better. I bought into this as being truth at a young age. The Zips have not gotten better. The Zips have regressed. The strategies of this staff are not working. The emphasis on transfers has failed because you bring in transfers to win today. Today not tomorrow. I heard that somewhere, I think. 2014 was the Zips "Time to Shine", I heard. Does anyone recall the Play 14 graphics and don't forget about #play14. We were all sold a bill of goods about this team being much better than what it is. A lot of us bought in. I know I did. Even though I watched the same Spring game you all did. Even though I went to a few practices and saw that same offense that couldn't punch its way through a wet paper sack. I gave way too much credit to the defense. Almost any defense looks good against our offense as we have seen the past 4 weeks. A lot of us were irrationally exuberant. The book is out on the Zips. Every staff seems to know what to expect from our offense and how to attack our defense. All of our deficiencies have been exposed and exploited. Meanwhile, we do the same thing every week. Like someone said, we just keep on pounding the square peg into the round hole. It is beyond frustrating to watch. Good coaches find ways to win. Good coaches utilize their personnel to accentuate their talents and limit their liabilities. Terry Bowden took a big risk in naming A.J. Milwee Offensive Coordinator because he clearly did not have the experience and qualifications for the job. I think almost everyone gave the coach a free pass on that one on the hope that A.J. was some kind of wunderkind prodigy offensive genius. This is clearly not the case. We have almost two years of proof now. It's not just A.J., though. Just singling him out is unfair. Return teams have been atrocious and our receivers can't get open or catch a cold. You would think we would have seen a little progress here in the last 2 1/2 years. I realize the staff knows far more about the game of football than I or anyone else on this board does. They have made the game their life's work. I think that they can still get on the right track but that will mean making changes. I hope they are all doing some soul searching and honestly assessing where the program is and where it is heading in an honest non-delusional manner. I hope the players are doing the same and the fans as well. Right now Terry & Co. are 10-24 and that ain't good. The promise of a 4-2 start with 2 poor teams next on the docket leading up to a showdown with BG was intoxicating for a minute. 4 straight losses sobered me up right quick. It really blows and it kind of makes me mad at myself because I committed the Zip fan's cardinal sin: I got my hopes up. I am tired of always waiting for next year. I am tired of excuses. I am tired of losing. Reality is a cold-hearted bitch.

I watched and saw a very beatable team if we make some changes. Stay the same and we probably lose. Terry has to take over the offense and both OT's should be benched with Brown and Boyett moved to these positions. Move back in Senior McNamara at RG and work on a surprise play or two for this game to create some excitement this week. Get Smith and Davis the ball more as D'Orazio will be doubled (come back to Zach later in the game). The offense has got to stop trying not to lose the game, deferring to the defense, and take over the game. Pound in Hundley and give Senior running back Chisholm his carries. It can be done with the players we have now in these last two games. Hopefully Pohl's knee is OK.

The more years they play together, the more formidable the trio of Najem, Souto, and Laryea will become. Adam, please stay with us another year!

Ummm. Whether or not Bowden was dropping 'hint' isn't germane. Neither is it germane to the conversation that the sports writers specifically and the 'journalists' in general employed by the BJ are for the most part(not all) first rate second rate journalists,to paraphrase a civil war general I think. There is no point in discussing whether or not Bowden could handle a 'hostile' press if one existed in NE Ohio. What is important to discuss is what Bowden and his staff are accomplishing ON THE FIELD. Its past time to blame previous regimes for what is happening on the field now. Bowden is and has been getting paid a lot of money to do what he is doing at Akron. Thats his job. He came here voluntarily. I hope nobody is talking about wanting Bowden gone. Thats not appropriate. What is appropriate is to scrutinize the decisions he and the AD(Wistircil needs to be accountable) make and how that translates to performance on the field. There are some fairly obvious areas where some crucial decisions will need to be made before next season. Whether that involves modifications in coaching philosophy,changes to the coaching staff or changes to players on the field,this coming 'off season' will determine if this program can take the step up to being truly competetive in the MAC next season.

OK ..... Want to get all you veteran fans opinions. I have looked through Coach Bowdens 2 signing classes (2013 and 2014) and also looked at the films of each. As much as everyone has lost faith in this years team and where the program is or is not headed, I truly believe that the talent level in these two classes is without doubt a dramatic step up in talent from what I see on the field in the upper classman. I think that this is pretty important to look at as it does show the opportunity upcoming for the program And although the 2015 class is kind of up in the air, the commits seem to be in the same mold as the first two signing classes ... The transfers sitting out that are eligible next year seem to be studs, as long as the attitudes are in check Another year I know, another disappointment ..... alot of hype and expectation shot down. BUT, hope should still be alive (LOL) O-line and D-line appear to have been addressed ...... D-line weight average is about 272 (of the recruits) and appear quick on film (LOL, the dog I have in the hunt committed for 2015 is at 250 lbs and hopes to be at 260 when he comes in June) Couple of bigger receivers ..... Let's hope they can catch A little bit bigger at corner and safety ...... Let's hope they are physical !! Just some thoughts over coffee while searching for some positives for you guys !!!!