InTheZone

Congrats to Jason. Great player and a great dude.

Call me crazy, but I think Getsy has a better shot at standing on an NFL sideline next year than Alleman. Getsy was horrible last year, and his stats show it, but one thing about the NFL is that if a QB has the tools (a strong arm, which Getsy does), he'll get a year or two in the league. Case in point, and I've made it before, Spergon Wynn, who was horrible in college, and the guy the Vikings have STARTING now from Alabama St. (i forget his name, but his completion percentage in college was under 50%).As for Alleman, the guy's clearly a "workout warrior", and his strength and quickness is undoubtedly what got him his invite, but I saw nothing in the past two seasons on the field from him that told me he was an NFL lineman, and I watch both lines pretty closely. He was just always solid but never dominant, and if you can't dominate against MAC competition you're going to get your ass kicked in the league. I'm rooting for him though and I hope he proves me dead wrong.

I haven't turned on anybody. I just made this poll out of curiosity, to gauge how far on the "hot seat" JD was. Geeeeeeeeeez.I've never been a huge Brookhart guy, and I'm a little cynical about some of his "top" recruiting classes, but I'm in no way advocating firing the guy unless next season is a complete disaster, like 4-8 or worse. JD still has my guarded support, I'm just not bustin nuts over the guy like some are after three so-so seasons with more talent on the field than there's ever been here.

Should only have one loss right now. I'll go with C, but a win this weekend will upgrade to B.

Should JD be fired???Thoughts and opinions.

Anyone who has followed MAC basketball for a while knows that winning out in the MAC just isn't going to happen. We'll surely stumble in some places along the way, but anything other than a MAC championship in this season is going to be a disgrace. I said the same thing about football though, and look what happened there .

I'm getting back into town just in time for the game. I'm going to try to bring around five people with me, but I'll have to buy walk up tickets. I'm guessing that's not going to be a problem, though I'd personally be more pleased if I wasn't able to get in!

I've had a couple of encouraging encounters the past year that I thought I'd share. My work takes me out of town a lot specifically into the Pittsburgh area and the Cincinnati area. Relaxing around the hotel, I often sport my Zips gear. I can't tell you how often recently I've had people stop me with a "Go Zips" or "Oh are you an Akron fan" just from seeing the logo. A few times its been alumni (who even then, sad to say, it's a good sign they recognize their alma mater's logo), but many more times its just been people with no connection to the University that wanna talk sports. A few years ago this never happened, most people didn't even know what the U of A was or that we had Division 1 athletics. When I ran into other alumni, sports was never the topic on their lips. This is a really encouraging sign to me of the way we're going here, so I just thought I'd share.

To address some things that were said:Cap: I'm sure you're "in the know" just as much as I am, but I'd heard that Mickey Baker was huge disappointment and at best will be a marginal backup. Heard GREAT things about Petite-Frerre though. Scout team player of the year, should add a lot of depth to the LB core.johnnyzip: Pace had a horrible year, but judging by the two seasons before that he can still be a top-notch player. I think the drug suspension shows us his mind was in a lot of other places this season.a-zip: Stoudemire should be eligible, and he's a physical freak, but he's another one with discipline problems that I'm just hoping doesn't turn into another Clarence McPherson/Nate Robinson.Ballingirl: I know what you're talking about, and Cline will be back. He made a stupid mistake but I believe everything has been cleared up and the University isn't taking any action. He became ineligible at the end of last season however and didn't dress for the final two games, so his academics are of concern. From everything I know, he will be back on campus in the spring though.

Forgot all about Andre Jones. That gives us TWO great talents at free safety, though I would put Jones slightly behind Brandon Anderson in terms of overall talent in the secondary. Jones was slightly inconsistent at times last year and had a few blown coverages early on, but I'm sure much of that can be attributed to the fact that he had been out of football for a while.Next year's starting Defense:FS- Andre Jones/Wayne CobhamSS- Chevin PaceR-John MackeyCB- Brandon AndersonCB- Reggie Corner/Devanso TateLB- Kevin GrantLB- Brion StokesLB-Doug Williams/Al-Teric BalaamDE- Jared CechettiN- Dantley Cline/Eric LivelyDE- Nate RobinsonLooking at that lineup, the only weakness I see is the D-line. If I'm Jim Flemming I take Grant, have him put on 10 lbs, and put his hand down, replacing Cechetti with him to provide a pass rush. Al Teric-Balaam can easily be a starting linebacker, and if you're trying to get your best eleven on the field you replace Cechetti with Balaam.

I'm PUMPED about next year's secondary. The trio of Tate, Corner, and one of the best Zips DB's ever, Brandon Anderson, would be the envy of a lot of BCS schools. Add to that a huge talent at safety in Wayne Cobham, who began last season playing at the ripe old age of 17, with Mackey and hopefully a Chevin Pace with his head screwed on straight manning the SS/Rover spots, and that's the best secondary in the league bar none, all returning starters. But they better be able to cover for a looooooong time, because I don't think our pass rush problems are getting better anytime soon. You lose the only two guys who did anything in the pass rush last year in Reid and Gonzales, and then your two fastest d-lineman decide to leave the team, and you aren't left with much in the way of pass rush. Cechetti's not exactly a pass rush specialist, neither is Lively. Nate Robinson probably could do something, but from what I've seen he's lazy and takes most passing plays to catch his breath instead of giving an effort. The only hope I see for a pass rush is to either take Grant and put his hand down or hope and pray that Lemon qualifies and is able to contribute. Otherwise the safest person in the world next year is going to be a quarterback going against the Zips.

Ummm..... maybe it has something to do with the fact that all the "AK-Rowdies" are home on Christmas break??? I've seen a lot of schools sell tickets in the student section during winter break. It's pretty common practice. Why let premium seating sit empty when there's no student population on campus to fill them?? They'll be given the section back at the start of the second semester.

I didn't at all mean with my post to say that we should've kept LO around, that wasn't the point at all. Personally, I would've given the guy another year after a 7-5, 5-3 season with a senior quarterback of Frye's caliber returning, but that's beside the point I was making. I was simply drawing attention to the fact that JD has been given a free pass by a lot around here for what amounts to doing no more than his predecessor with much greater resources at his disposal. Lee Owens didn't have a bright shiny campus and fieldhouse to whoo recruits with the way JD does. Much more should be expected out of JD because he has a lot more to work with, but so far he has done nothing outside of a 6-5, 5-3 season (like I said, the same type of season LO was fired for) to warrant any kind of optimism for his ability as the head football coach of the University of Akron Zips. This was a year when he had the tools at his disposal to dominate the MAC, and as we all know, he fell well short of that. Next year, with so many new starters, he can operate under the guise of a "rebuilding year". He didn't get the job done this year and he has done nothing since arriving here outside of inheriting a winning team with brand new facilities and doing nothing more with it than the last guy. I'll give him another year or two, but I think Mack Rhodes had a lapse in judgement by extending his contract five more years. That's a lot of years to pay off if we have two more 5-7 seasons, which, if you can go 5-7 with this team, imagine what you can do next year with a green team.

According to gozips.com, 16,686. I wasn't there so I can't comment to the validity of that.

I really do have to disagree that "we were some bad officiating and a bad long snapper away from defending our title." This team had simply too many problems to even be considered for a bowl game. In fact I think that if the Zips had somehow managed to luck out and get to a bowl this year, they would have only embarrassed the University. I know that the last game embarrassed me. Agreed w/ everything you said. I really just made that post out of frustration because when Miami was beating OU it looked like we'd been handed another golden ticket to back into Detroit and had blown it. I think we should've beaten OU, but you know what, who really gives a damn at this point. This team that was expected to do so much I think it's safe to say is the biggest disappointment in school history. For the first time, and I have been through some HORRID Zips seasons, after all the bragging I did to family in friends in preseason I am truely embarrassed to be a Zips fan right now.

Let's look at Brookhart's career here at Akron and compare him to his predecessor.Lee Owens:Has the worst facilities in the nation, no....not just 1-A, the NATION, and pulls three winning seasons in nine years, getting fired for a year in which he went 7-5 and 5-3 in the MAC one interception away from beating a top 25 team. I know there's some hatred for the guy on this forum but I think it's completely unwarranted. For the crap he was handed from the administration in terms of support and facilities I think he worked miracles.JD Brookhart:Steps right into the best on campus practice and training facilities in the MidWest and inherits a 7-5 team with one of the best 5th year senior QB's in the nation. Starts his career out 1-4 with a loss to a Sun Belt school, and three HUMILIATING blowouts, one to another MAC school. Gets on a hot streak against some weak competition in the middle of the schedule (Buffalo, UCF, Ohio, Can't, Ball St, and needed a Charlie Frye miracle to beat a bad Marshall team) and then closes out the year to lose to a down Miami team that was just good enough to win a bad MAC East that season. 6-5 with a team that I honestly believe would've won the East that year if Lee O/Paul Winters had stayed in charge and kept the momentum from '03. Has the so-called #1 recruiting class in the MAC heading into '05, which should be expected with the best facilities in the MAC, but in reality just signed a bunch of guys who would never get here anyways. Half that class is no longer with the team. Comes back in '05 and is proclaimed God of Akron after going 6-5, 5-3 in the MAC..... the same record Lee Owens was fired for. Is the beneficiery not of what his team did, but of what other team DIDN'T do, and backs into the MAC championship, and beats an NIU team on a last second prayer, an NIU team that didn't have it's starting quarterback. Loses the Bowl game to a mediocre Memphis team. Has a solid recruiting class, again, with what could be expected with the facilities and coming off a championship, but again, many don't qualify. Nevertheless, Akron enters 2006 as arguably the most talented team in the MAC, full of, not to keep stroking the guy's dick but, guys Lee Owens recruited with the most god-awful facilities and campus in college football. With that talented team, he drops an egg, and goes 5-7 in a DOWN year in the MAC.So you be the judge.....is JD Brookhart really that great of a coach, or just a guy who had limited success because he stepped into the right situation at the right time?? You be the judge. I'm not for firing the guy this year, but heads on his staff should roll, and I'm not as excited about that contract extension as some of you are.

Well nvm. Ohio took care of Miami in the second half and we're getting our asses handed to us at the Bowl. First Zips home game I've missed in 3 years, and I'm glad I did. I'll look forward to Captain Kangaroo's assessment of this season and I plan on talking to a few of the players and giving my own. What a disappointment from a team that had the talent and the schedule to win 10 games this year. Sickening.

well, it looks like everything in our scenario to make the MAC title game is going to play out... all except us beating Ohio. OU is losing to Miami and Can't is getting blasted by Ball St in true Can't fashion. So it looks like we were some bad officiating and a bad long snapper away from defending our title. Makes me sick.

Don't count on that, the scouts like his arm, and in that case, scouts will overlook a less than stellar college career. Remember when the Browns drafted Spergon Wynn? He was a 1-aa quarterback who didn't even complete 50% of his college passes. I don't think Luke will be drafted but he'll get a shot in camp with somebody. Alleman will probably go late 6th to early 7th based on stellar workouts. Reid is too slow and will end up in Canada. Gonzales doesn't have good size (height, he's not the 6'2 he's listed at, more like 5-10) but will get a free agent contract somewhere.

Well off that list from everything I've heard you can slash McPherson, who is said to be transferring, Butler, who already has transferred, and Tevlin Petit-Frere, who was moved to linebacker.So right now, the front three looks like this:E- Jared Cecchetti 6-2 264 Craig Truax 6-4 255N- Dantley Cline 6-2 290 Wallace Pendleton 6-1 310E- Nate Robinson 6-5 315 Eric Lively 6-2 270 Cline will probably be over 300 by next season, around the size of Gonzales. If you really look at it, that's not that small of a defensive line, especially for the MAC, with two 300 pounders up front. Throw in Big Stoudamire if he qualifies, and that's a pretty damn big D-line. Outside the starting three there's not much depth, and that's the only thing that would concern me.

So you don't think Akron recruits from little schools Cap? See Jared Cecchetti, strarting DT, JD Brookhart recruit. Played as a true freshman. From Kane HS in Kane, PA, population 100 people and 50 cows. If Kane were in Ohio, it'd be a tiny D6 school. Just because a kid is from a small town and small school doesn't mean he can't play. Many D1 schools are catching on to this and recruiting players based on their attributes, not their competition. bobby may in fact be talking about a kid that would be a huge pickup for us, and we have a better chance of getting him because of the fact that he's from a small school. You shouldn't just laugh at him because he doesn't play at Canton McKinley.

Zips offense struggles, but much like last year, Buffalo struggles more. Special teams finally scores this year and puts us over the top.Zips 20Buffalo 10

Panini's might be the gayest place in Akron besides the Innerbelt. I mean, is it really necessary to station five bouncers who take themselves waaaaaay too seriously at the door on a Wednesday night when there's two people in the bar anyways?? That's one place I try to avoid on my semi-monthly trips downtown.

Like Nav said, we'd already have the second tier tiebreaker with more East wins, but even if we didn't the 3rd tier is simply the record of all the west teams you've played, not the ones you've beaten.

Hopefully he takes longer. Watching the offensive line this year, no one has unimpressed me as much as Andy Wills. The Zips will be better off in my opinion with Mike Schepp or Alleman in that spot.