Zipsrifle

Now that we've beaten the DT issue to death, I was wondering what people think about how we utilize him? Do we redshirt him? Why? Do we add him to the stable of RB or do we use him on Defense? Seems to me that there isn't much time for him to pick up how to properly play either side of the ball, so if he does play this year, do we see him early on or wait till after a few games?

Right now, I have no idea. As I've said before, we have so many "if's" that we could be last, or we could win the East. With camp started, the pre-season excitement is really starting to pick up and thoughts of winning the MAC are popping into my mind. I start every year convinced we are gonna win the MAC and usually get smacked back down to earth in short order. So this season, I'm just start forming my opinion once the season starts.

\100% Agreed! Maybe we need to add some plaques to that!

Ok, Ok, Slacks, Ties AND the hat. Does that work?No, but seriously, here's a few for the Players:What game are you most excited about this year?What moment from last season stands out?How did you prepare in the offseason? How was this different than in the past?Who has suprised you the most so far this year?What have the coaches emphasized this year when compared to last year?What do the fans do that really gets the players fired up?Who is the motor out there this year?Who is the commedian out there this year?Who is all buisness? In general, I think you can get candid answers out of the players more than the coaches. Coaches are more like politicians in that they are very good at avoiding the direct question and telling you the same old lines about how "we're working hard", "This is the best team yet", "Great Progress today", yada - yada - yada.

Option 3: Get a free round trip plane ticket from my airline pilot brother to Akron leaving Friday morning. Get a hotel room Friday night, get up at the crack of dawn and be hammered outside the RB by 10:00. Watch the Zips knock off Davis and the boys on one of the last beautiful Saturday afternoon games at the RB. Go to a bar that night in Akron with all your Zips gear and laugh your @$$ off while OSU gets killed. Make comments like "at least my team won today!", "Boy, those DII teams really helped you prepare for this game didn't they!", and "Did you know 1/3 of Akron and OSU's schedule last year was the same?". That right there is a good time!

OK, I'll bite...how exactly were Cleveland fans and media "low class and thuglike" with Charlie?I don't think it is just the Cleveland media, it is media in general and I think the progression at any NFL team goes like this:Summer:- Existing QB adequate, but not outstanding.- New QB Drafted, supposed to be pretty good!- New QB could be the savior.Pre Season:- New QB sees some playing time against the opponents 2nd team. Does pretty good!- New QB probaby is the savior!- Buzz starts that we need to ditch existing QB right now.Season Starts:- Starting QB continues to be adequate, but not outstanding- Existing QB on the sidelines, but he is OBVIOUSLY THE SAVIOR!Mid Season:- Why do we still have "adequate" QB in, we need the SAVIOR!- Coaches give in, put in the SAVIOR!- New QB gets rocked- That's OK, he just needs to get a few games under him.Late Season-New QB still getting rocked, he's really not that good.-Old and New QB go back and forth, both are adequate but not great-We need a new QB. -I hear this kid coming out of XXX is pretty good, we should pick him up!! He's the Savior!!!

I allowed myself to fix that typo in your post zipsrifle This akron vs osu debate is getting really old. No matter how you put it, far or close, real team or not, if you went to Akron, that's your team, your affiliation, your identity. Who cares what your family does and who they root for, you went to school at Akron, they didn't.Let's put it this way, your son is playing in a school league and your neighbor's son also plays for another team, your neighbour's son is a better player, do you stop cheering your son and cheer on the neighbour?How did I miss that!! Thanks for editing, I'll have to be more careful next time.

Hey, I think this is a great idea. I don't think we have to worry about giving the impression that we aren't considered a bigtime program.....N E W S F L A S H.....we aren't considered a bigtime program! This will give us a chance to play the game when the sun is out, I think more fans will come because of the time and hell, we can get home at decent time. We'll actually get to see what it feels like to play a game on Saturday afternoon in the Rubber Bowl!!!

I grew up a MICHIGAN fan. Why? Well partially because it took less time to get to Ann Arbor than it did to Cowlumbus and because even at an early age I found OSU fans extremely Obnoxious! Note: My family is FULL of OSU fans who DIDN'T go to OSU. One actually graduated from Michigan. :blink: Then, I enrolled at Akron and went to a few FB games every year but I wasn't that into the team, school kept me too busy. After I graduated, I moved to Michigan, scored Michigan Season Tickets for a couple years. Guess what, I ditched those for Akron tickets. Why? 1) It wasn't any fun watching UofM pound on 3-4 mid-major teams every year. It just wasn't exciting.2) I got sick and tired, even after a win, hearing fans complain! If they won, they would whine about how they should have won by more!3) God forbid if they lost!!! FIRE LLOYD!!!!4) I had to pay an arm and a leg to watch a bunch of cupcake games and 2-3 exciting games.While visiting back home on the weekends (when UofM was away), I started going to Zips games. They were actually exciting! We didn't win all the time, but hell, the games were fun. The fans were very down to earth people who didn't expect perfection (these are 18-22 year old kids remember). You could get GREAT seats and those boys can PLAY!! Tickets were dirt cheap and I had a GREAT time! Got a couple of my old college buddies to show up for tailgating, started going to games at CMU and EMU....BAM! I was hooked. In the end, for me, it is just SO MUCH MORE FUN than going to UofM games. It's really easy to follow the team and the opponents are close. A lot of the people I know also went to MAC schools so it makes things fun to keep them on their toes about their Alma Mater. I guess I don't mind my friends or my co-workers cracking on me for being a Zips fan. If I had a dime for everytime I heard an OSU fan say: "Why don't you root for a real team like OSU?".....I'd be a rich man. BTW, living for almost a decade in Michigan, I never once was asked "Why don't you root for a real team like Michigan?". There's no turning back now, I'm a Zips fan to the end! Hell, my kids and my Nephews think the Akron Zips are BIGTIME!!!!

OK, here's what you need to do. See if you can get a little tiny football field off to the side. Get a couple of us old guys from ZNO to come out in ties and dress slacks. We'll act like we're blocking and running a route and you' ll say something profound like "The QB throws the ball and someone on your team needs to catch the ball"

I just hope they catch whoever did this. Then, as punishment, the judge has them marched out in the middle of Dix stadium right before kickoff. There is an announcement that they vandalized the stadium, they are marched around in front of the stands so fans from BOTH teams can throw stuff at them. Then, they get to sit in the opposing schools student section for the entire game. Now that I think of it, I'll bet this was the work of an OSU fan!

I can comprehend it. I was an OSU fan until they won the National Championship. I was an OSU fan through all the Cooper years. The reason I am not a fan now, is because of all the front runners plain and simple. So yes I want to see OSU fail. Not out of jealousy. (Do you really think any of us grew up a Zips fan? No we are all indoctrinated with who our families root for.) No, I want to see them fail so I don't have to see them in my home town paper everyday, so I don't have to see a bunch of pop colored douchebags running around with OSU gear they picked up even though they are attending OU, Miami, Can't, and yes Akron. I don't like people who are fans of winners because they are winners. Like the Indians fans of the late 90's who never even stepped foot into Muni. The only issue I have with you, is the fact that you come on here talking OSU. It's a Zip board. Unless we are playing, or we get a transfer OSU should not be mentioned on this board. They have nothing to do with us. And everyone on here that absolutely hates them (for what ever reason they have) has a right to hate them, whether it's jealousy, because they weren't accepted, or because they are shoved down our throats day in and day out and called great, when they (and any BCS school for that matter) only play, at most, a total of 5 really good schools the entire year.Fantastic post.. So posters here can call out OSU fans and they can call OSU names, but if anyone defends that, they are the enemy.Thanks for posting the rules.GREAT IDEA!!! I also think these should be the rules! All in favor?

Excellent pick up DrZ!Some of the generally stupid commentary on this board this week has centered around taking risks on kids. Some would say that a guy like this should not be signed because he would not be able to succeed academically. In a twisted leap of faith, the same type of thinkers would say that he should not be signed because he had to go to a prep school and we just can't take a risk "on a kid like that". Others would say that since he did not go to Pitt, he would be a problem at UofA because he would be selfish (this is actually a potential problem, but it seems as if JD has that under control). I scratch my bald head at this thinking. Here is what we have with Williams....He is a completely unselfish kid willing to do what is best for the team. While he may not be Dean's List material, like the great GP1 was for undergrad and graduate school, he is holding his own. He has not been a single problem and is showing good leadership skills with the acceptance of this move. I'd like to take a minute to thank Mr. Williams for flipping the bird (figuratively) to the narrow minded bigots of the world. If this kid is a risk, let's take more risks.There are so many people out there who know what everyone else thinks and what they would say. I just wonder why they aren't worth BILLIONS?? It's too bad that someone who thinks that taking risks on students who have sketchy academic backgrounds and/or have had issues with the law is a bad idea is viewed with such disgust on this board. As this is the case, I don't understand why we weren't all cheering for Rydell Brooks when he started shooting at cops or why we aren't enamored that Harvey isn't with the team anymore? I completely understand that just because someone did something bad in the past doesn't mean they are going to do it in the future. But if you were forced to loan money to someone, would you choose the person who has paid off all their loans in the past, or pick the guy who has missed quite a few payments? My gut tells me that you go with the guy who pays back his loans. Sure, if you're greedy the risky guy may get you higher interest, but if you load up with risky guys, you might have a major meltdown. Hmmmmmmmmm......... sounds familiar. Unfortunately for us, if we keep screwing up, instead of being bailed out by the Gov't, we get sanctioned by the NCAA. Now that I think of it, I don't know why I'm so suprised. I didn't understand 5 years ago how so many people could be so far extended financially and I don't understand now why it's a good idea to load up on risky players? In the end, it'll probaby turn out the same way, I'll just be screwed over by the people taking risks. I hope you guys are right on these risky moves, but remember those #1 recruiting classes we had a few years ago? Shouldn't that translate into being the top team in the confrence and not the bottom????

I absolutely agree that this article was written to "Walk the fence" but was solidly on one side. Also, anybody get the feeling that he was nosing around here and saw how unusually divided the Zips fans were and thought "This will be a GREAT story!" Sometimes it seems that writers just read a thread, jot down some notes and get paid for it.

I think becomming a team, as someone posted before, may also be another huge hurdle.

Should there be a bottom 10 at the beginning of the year? At least let each team play a down first. On the other hand, we do have a top 25 picked months ahead of time.

Brady Quinn is the savior! He'll take us to the Super Bowl!!!!!

I don't know, I think the Buckeyes could stay within 7 You know, I've seen you complain mightily about why can't this board be more friendly and open-minded to fans of both the Zips and Buckeyes, but there's no doubt you bring a lot of this on yourself. Now maybe you are just reacting to how you've been treated by some in the past? Perhaps, and much of this may have come before my time on this board. But here are a few of my own comments on some of the things you've said on this thread. TRUE, Syracuse will be favored and it WILL be an upset if the Zips win. But, I think it has all the makings of a pretty competive game (can't wait for this road-trip). While the final score was a little mis-leading, Indiana did NOT manhandle the Zips last year.And, yes the college football forecasters are probably not losing any sleep over how the Zips will perform in 2008, but couldn't you cut a ZIP FAN a break on this board??? And his main point is valid. The Zips are VERY much an enigma heading into the season. And I don't care if it's only the people on this board who care, that doesn't change the reality.My final point is this (and I apologize if someone else has made this point before). Maybe if you changed your name to Zipbuck others here would take you more seriously as a Zip fan. I'd call it "deferring to the home team". Just a thought. BTW, I am NOT trying to start one of THOSE discussions. Dude, I don't think that was any type of personal attack on Buckzip's part and if it was, it didn't get under my skin. Though I've given BZ enough $#!+ in the past, I think he's toned down his bias quite a bit. He thinks the Zips will lose by 14, great, that's his opinion. Now, when he starts preaching to us about how we should act as fans and how a real, bigtime program like OSU does things, then we can knock him off his high horse.

Well said Captain Kangaroo!This team needs to start winning NOW. If that means taking chances, then let's take chances and let the AD figure out ways to put controls on the players (ie: 24 hour study table, 7day a week bed check, etc.). If any of you don't want to take chances, please don't come on the board and bitch when the team is losing. Please don't complain about the coaching either, because your mentality put hand cuffs on the guy. Here is a question I would love some on this board to answer. If we can't take JUCO players because they are a risk, if we can't take a kid who might have gotten into a problem of which he was found not guilty, if we can't take players because they are not from the mid west, if we can't take players because they may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, if we can't take players because they aren't smart enough to get on the Dean's List, if we can't take kids who transfered from a BCS school because they may not fit in, if we can't take a kid because he may enjoy a good party or God forbid smoking a joint every once in a while (you guys know you did in college and maybe beyond), who in the Hell do we take and how do we win with that group? It seems to me as if there would not be enough of the remaining "talent" to win anything. There is not a coach in the world who can win with a group of choir boys. You guys may think they can, but they can't and they never have.UofA is in freaking D-1A college football. The whole 1950s mentality I see on this board does not translate into winning (actually, college football was even more corrupt in the 1950s than it is now, but that is another discussion) in 2008. I can guarantee you guys one thing, fans at winning programs are not sitting around wringing their hands worrying about what players are doing when they are not winning. Winning has a way of baptizing away a lot of sins. We need to start thinking like winners and not our narrow minded grandparents.I do not view college athletics as a win at all costs endeavor. That's what professional sports are for. I view college athletics as a way to build pride, enthusiasm, and life long memories in the school you attend while preparing the STUDENTS for their future. What I want is to build a winning program while preparing as many of the athletes for professional careers in something OTHER than the sport in which they participate. After all, the vast majority of NCAA athletes don’t become professional athletes. If UA takes a scholarship and gives it to an outstanding player who does not finish school, then IMO that money could have been put to better use on a player who, though not as talented, would have worked hard in school and received their degree. I do not believe it is impossible to build a winning program with high quality individuals. I hope that the issues DT has had are indeed not true. I hope that he is an outstanding individual who is looking forward to working his hardest in school and on the field. I have only part of the story and have to draw a conclusion from what information is presented to me. Time will tell.

I have no idea what to expect from this team this year, and I don't know how anyone knows what we've got. We've got to be the biggest question mark in the country right now. We could be the worst team in the country, or we could be contending for the East. We've got 4-5 good, solid backs in the backfield, but will they have room to run? The OL appears to be pretty deep, but have we made any strides from last season? If we can open up holes, WATCH OUT! If not, and the QB gets tons of pressure, we're screwed. Is CJ11 that improved or will MR step up and be the next Frye or Lefevour? We're moving B Williams over to the defense and A Jones over to the Offense. We've got a WV transfer and 2 JUCO's to step in a WR. The D, who knows what will happen there. Bain could really tear up the MAC and put so much pressure on opposing QB's that our inexperienced backfield won't be an issue, or, our secondary could get lit up all season long, or the secondary could be solid, with Bain and Torrence making an immediate impact and we lock everyone down! I guess at least the special teams will be solid. Right now, to be honest, I'm just gonna show up to the first few games and hold on because I don't think ANYONE knows where this program is headed right now.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the ZipsI don't know what to say....I'm not very happy about this. Was the guy acquitted? Yes. Would another team, possibly a MAC team, picked him up? Yes. I still am concerned as the guy was in this situation in the first place, which leads me to believe he doesn't have the best judgement. Assuming he is indeed with the Zips, he is going to be around the same group of friends that he got into this mess with in the first place, and we all know what this can lead to..... I'm glad to see that JD is working so hard to bring in quality players.....just like he was doing 3-4 years ago. It's the sign of a desperate coach. Either He will com in and have an immediate impact (probably on defense) and JD keeps his job, or the whole thing blown up in JD's face and we're stuck cleaning up the mess. It's a huge gamble. We'll see how it plays out, and hope for the best.And what is defined as "Paying off"? 6-6? And if it doesn't pan out, we're left cleaning up the mess. My concern is that the mess may be quite large and something that takes a decade to recover from. I agree, we've got a pretty desperate coaching staff on our hands. In the end, we don't have any say over what happens on the FB team, so all we can do is hope for the best.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the ZipsI don't know what to say....I'm not very happy about this. Was the guy acquitted? Yes. Would another team, possibly a MAC team, picked him up? Yes. I still am concerned as the guy was in this situation in the first place, which leads me to believe he doesn't have the best judgement. Assuming he is indeed with the Zips, he is going to be around the same group of friends that he got into this mess with in the first place, and we all know what this can lead to..... I'm glad to see that JD is working so hard to bring in quality players.....just like he was doing 3-4 years ago.

I was over that way today and I think they were just firing up the scoreboard for the first time. I have to say, the picture quality wasn't very good, but other than that, it looked like everything was working perfectly! I have to say, I was VERY impressed with what I saw. I just happened to have my camera on me and snapped a pic. Take a look!

Don't know if anyone was aware of this, but this thread is now the longest thread in ZNO HISTORY! Remember, you can always rely on me to report completely meaningless facts that nobody cares about!

So close...almost there...