Captain Kangaroo
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But at the top are a couple legit D-1 programs. NIU is one of them. They play like a veteran, well-coached team. One that played UCLA very tough in a bowl last season.
Cap'n - that was Temple.
Rats - I got my International Bowl and Silicon Bowl mixed up.
Regardless - they are a team who's Redshirt Freshman thru Seniors, have bowl experience. Heck -- their Soph-thru-Seniors have been to two bowls.
They played like a team with bowl experience, and we played like one that isn't confident they can win one game, let-alone 6 or 7.
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I was going to skip this week, but due to popular demand I'll take an look at This Week in Zips Football...
While GP1 opines on the sorry state of the MAC, and the lack of quality teams, that is a very broad brush to paint the entire conference. There are teams at the middle/bottom of the conference who would be lucky to be 0.500 with an all-1-AA schedule. But at the top are a couple legit D-1 programs. NIU is one of them. They play like a veteran, well-coached team. One that played South Florida in a bowl last season, and also played in a bowl the previous year.
NIU picked us apart unmercifully Saturday night. 50 points in three quarters is about as many points as you can score in the time allotted. Our DB's are woefully undersized against real WR's, and NIU had a couple of them. It is amazing how simple it is for an opposing offense to move the ball against the Zips...and how difficult it is for the Zips to even get consecutive 1st downs.
I said a while ago that it is a blessing to be a younger fan and have hope that things are going to turn around. Kibitzing in the tailgate lot, and on the board with some of the long-time fans... the old guys are flat-out getting beat down. It's really tough to remain optimistic when you've been through this before with Faust...then Owens...then Brookhart...and now Ianello. <Insert Coach Here> arrives...terrible year #1...better year #2...mediocre year #3...gets a contract extension...then, mediocre-to-bad for the next several seasons until there's 1 year remaining on the contract and we can afford to buy it out. Then it starts again....
Through 5 games this season, everyone here has done their best to exercise patience in allowing the new staff and new systems to be implemented. The problem is -- we aren't even competitive. We've sunk so low that we're losing at home to bad 1-AA teams. We're a 17 point underdog to K.e.n.t. Freaking State. How is it possible to be so bad? How?
Looking back into the summer...two other things stand out as contributors to the ire of older fans (I'll consider "older" being graduated, and paying for your tickets). Getting the boot from Lot 9, for the purposes of making way for $5k football donors, set a bad tone. It really showed me that someone has no idea what the hell they are doing. The cancellation of the golf outing ruined the chance for the staff to bond with fans. Fans are apt to be much more forgiving if they feel the have a personal relationship with the staff. No one has such a relationship. Both summer instances make fans feel that they are not valued. Both instances would have been forgotten, if the parking lots were packed, and the team was competitive. But the lots are empty, and the team is 0-5.
Now, ticket prices have dropped. Too bad for you suckers that bought season ducats. Look for 2011 tickets to be a VERY hard sell.
That all said - Is everything Ianello's fault? No. I see all the clamor to fire the guy...which is absurd since we can't eat 3 years of anyone's contract. And we shouldn't. They guy deserves his obligatory 4 years to see what he can do with his own players. And with his system installed for 3-4 years. Whether or not that contributes to continuation of the above-mentioned "cycle" or not is irrelevant.. it's reality.
It is tough to have such a sweet stadium, yet get blown out by 36 @ homecoming. It's tough to get you're kids pumped to attend a game...to get their faces painted and all that stuff... and have them see the Zips rack up loss after loss after loss.
Ianello has one big, fat chance to turn the tide on this sea(son) of negativity. And that chance is to show up Saturday and beat a K.e.n.t. State football team that has no clue how to win. He beats 1 - 3 K.e.n.t., and the boo-birds will begin to quiet as he heads into what should be a very competitive stretch of games:
Can't - no 1-A wins. Terrible.
OU - decent, but not great
WMU - terrible (lost to Idaho by 20 @ home, and still doesn't have a 1-A win)
Temple - Just a replay of the NIU game.
Ball State - horrid
Miami - 1 TD better than K.e.n.t.
Buffalo - Horrid
Turn it around, Zips. Give us some hope. Please.
A final note - I've seen the sidelines in past seasons, during blow outs, and a lot of players appeared to care less. I was at field level at game's end last week. There was no one yukking it up. To a man, everyone was sullen. So if the questions is "Has Ianello "'lost the team,"' the answer looks to be "no."
Gotta get back to work...lunch is over.
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So no ZN questions were asked?I listened to it, on and off, while I was doing a few other things.One that I forgot: Coach I watch team after team that run a pro style offense use the TE to move the chains, do we have TE's that catch the ball, do we send them out in routes, does PN7 have enough check downs if coverage is tight down field? I'll hang up and listen to your answer....
The one about Carter was asked. I missed some of the show so maybe I also missed a few other ZN questions. IIRC, the host identified a period of the show as one in which "e-mail" or "internet" (not sure about these terms) questions would be asked (no specific mention on ZN by name, although he may have said message board).
Here is a note for Fox 1350 Guy - If you use our message board as supporting material for your show, you give our message board due credit on the show.
I can't believe the guy would enter a specific request via a post, asking for help from our members, then not mention "ZipsNation.Org" as a source on the show. It can't be true. No one lacks that sort of ethics.
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Is that Milikin's home court?
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The bell rings and Pavlov's dog salivates. The tailgating ends and my stomach begins to ache, but not from the food or beverages. THIS is the week our association with the Info as a house of horrors begins to change.
Zips 30
Pups 27
"House of Horrors" looking all-too-accurate.
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The challenge when you play a team with a stud RB is that you have to try to stop him. And when you try to stop him, are you becoming incredibly exposed in the secondary? The Syracuse game was a good example of some of this. And I don't think any of us are confident that our secondary can pick up guys consistently while our front 7 tries to stop their running game.
What if the opponent is offensively 1-dimensional, with a crappy quarterback?
Interesting historical note: Garrett Wolf ran for around 200yards against us twice in 2005, and we beat Northern both times (going off memory, but I believe it is true).
Gosh that QB was crappy wasn't he?
That would be a good point, if I had stated the NIU had a crappy QB. But I didn't. And it isn't.
But congrats on your win anyhow.
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I'm glad this is back. it's easy for winning coaches to take questions, but it takes guts to take open questions when things are going the way they have.
The guy came from a losing program at Notre Dame. Easily in excess of a million fans "down" on the program and staff. Every loss was nationally televised.
Now he's facing 3 Zips fans on Waterloo Road, and they're more interested in free wings than football.
While I appreciate his availability, it is as gutsy as walking a foot-high tightrope over a tupperware container full of minnows. I think he'll survive.
Excitement regarding Zips football is at an all-time low. And that's really saying something.
My question for the guy - "After witnessing what has been on display the first 3 home games of the season, why should I come back for game 4? What is going to change?"
Question #2: "Will you beat K.e.n.t. State?"
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I miss Dwight Smith. He shut down his side of the field. If the ball was up in the air, he considered it "his." If his man caught the ball, he ripped it out of his arms. I see no DB with that attitude. No anticipation. Our secondary plays on it's heels.
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The Syracuse game was as non-competitive and a 26-point loss as you could get. Defense was so-so, but everything else was non-existent.
The Gardner Webb game goes in the books as the worst loss I've witnessed as a Zips football fan. Getting beaten at home by a 1-AA program in your shiny new stadium is about as low as it goes. The offense perked-up a little, as they should against a team with 22 fewer scholarships, but the defense got rolled, as they shouldn't against a team with 22 fewer scholarships.
The Kentucky game saw the first signs of legitimate life from the offense. The WR's actually got separation from an opposing DB. The offensive game plan gave us a lot of opportunities to score. But PN7's passes were either errant...or the receivers dropped the ball. Defensively, the Zips hung in there...until the offensive drought wore them down. After 1.5 quarters, fatigue caught up to us.
The Indiana game saw the game slow down for PN7. The WR's continued to build off the Kentucky game, and also made some catches. Gary Pride showed games 1-3 might have just been shaking off 4 years of rust. The OL created ample holes for the Zips' two Youngstown-bred backs to average 5+ yards per carry. The defense played well enough, and Igor showed why he was rated the #5 kicker in college football a few years ago. Unfortunately, a few lapses, and dropped passes, ruined the chance for a Big 10 upset.
Now we face MAC opponent Northern Illinois:
Can Latina continue to keep the opposing defense on it's heels with clever play calling?
Will the WR's continue to get separation?
Can the Zips finally connect on a home run ball?
If Hixon is returning for the reunion (he'd better be!), can he have a short meeting with Jeremy LaFrance to relay the importance of catching a deep pass?
Can someone on the defense step up and have a "wow" game? 14 tackles from an LB...3 sacks from a DL...an INT returned for a TD from a DB?
Can Igor keep kicking like it's 2007?
Can we keep "First 1/3rd of the Season MVP" Zack Campbell off the field?
Will the game continue to slow down for PN7?
Does Phil Tonga see his first action of the season?
Can the defense keep Chad Spann from going "Travis Prentis"/"Garrett Wolf" on us?
Bad MAC teams always have the appearance of a disorganized, ill-prepared train wreck. This is what kills K.e.n.t. State every single year. They do stupid, stupid stuff that you never see even at the pee wee level, and they lose. And lose.
After being emotionally crushed by our performance in the first two weeks, I'm heartened by the improvement in weeks 3 and four. We now look like a good football team. The Zips look well-coached. They look organized. They look to be improving every week. Now, it's pretty much up to the players to win a game. Can PN7 lead his team to a victory?
We have a MAC-level opponent, at home, homecoming. It is time to put on a show.
Absolute worst-case, I want to see a good college football game in Akron on Saturday. Ideally, I want a Zips blow out.
Answer - A mirage.
Also - Maybe I should have been more specific when I requested to see a Zips blowout.
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Rolled into lot 34 around 10 AM Saturday morning. We were the first ones there, got set up and waited for the onslaught of tailgaters that were sure to come.
After visiting with everyone in our lot (about 20 people), we walked down to Lot 9 and I got to meet Captain Kangaroo, JohnnyZip84, Dr. Z and Zips Win! which was very cool. Very nice folks and die-hards! Hopefully we will meet some more ZNO posters this year.
So who had the best ribs?
Dr. Z's Doctorate must be in Culinary Arts. He was the unanamous winner.
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Ribs have been smokin' for 4 hours. Getting near done.
Threw a chicken on too, just for fun.
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...will JD Brookhart be on the invite list?
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Definitely not the match that would turn Dr Z into a futbol fan. 90 minutes, and FAU never mounted any sort of threat.
I like the fact that there are seats in the west end, but those seats ain't the greatest. Only 5 rows high, your vision is constantly blocked by passers-by.
They really need a scoreboard facing the west-enders. Nothing fancy...just time and score. Hell...I'd take time-only.
The Rowdies make the East side rock. A totally different event on that side of the field.
Nice evening and a good crowd. I look forward to more exciting opponents.
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I can't imagine soccer parking will be bad with a 5:30pm start. The scrimmage and football game don't start until 2 hours later.
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Huskies 41
Zips 24
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I thought it was a pretty lame column too. I hate wishy-washy.
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Thanks for the heads-up, Cap'n. While I won't be in the burn-off, I will be bringing a large quantity of homemade bar-b-q Lima beans that should compliment the ribs well. Feel free to grab a side order.
Cool beans!
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I doubt anyone would share their rub recipes, but what kind of smokers do you have, and what do you smoke with?
Nuthin' fancy...
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Creativity has been a buzzword at team headquarters the last few days. No one has criticized Raye directly, but the words used to describe Johnson - creative, energetic, young - have been telling.
Anymore, I'm exited when I see someone older than me described as "young."
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Easiest fix to Mike's new offense is to get this guy involved in the game plan! I'm sure he would be all for it.
Sounds like someone might have this guy on their Fantasy Football team?
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It has to eat at him to constantly be looking up at AKRON in the standings, year-in-year-out. Not what he envisioned when he skipped town, I'm sure.
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We'll be holding our 12th annual Zips Rib Burn off on Saturday in Lot 9. If you were on-the-fence regarding what to cook, feel free to join-in. Last season, the ABJ covered it.
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There's no question in my find that the Zips have been improving. The only question is whether they are improving at a faster or slower rate than the remaining teams on their schedule. That will ultimately determine how well they do against NIU and the rest of the MAC teams on the schedule.
Thankfully there are teams like K.e.n.t. who always collapse. That gives me hope for next week. K.e.n.t. always finds a way to beat themselves. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
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ZipswWin! has a good story about a couple of former UA baseball players that wore their OSU gear to the Zips/OSU game a couple years ago. Sucks when former players sport opponents gear.
It's cool to see a Zips player outwardly proud of his school. You'd think it is common, but it isn't. Makes me want to support him all-the-more.
Can AA have a 7th year?
in Akron Zips Football
Posted
Call me crazy, but I think we'll see a couple in the next recruiting class. And "yes" I realize I put one on a tee for Zipmeister.