72 Roo

Damn, I like him!

Dre, it must have killed you to say this but I appreciate that you did. You are a stand up guy. It appears we all have reason to hope and that's a good thing!

After last week this was a huge improvement. OU is no WMU and it showed. Last week I was depressed; this week there is reason for hope. My biggest concern is Gibson. I questioned his decision making against Western and I saw little improvement tonight. You cannot win with a QB who turns over the ball. Around him the team has gotten better. Love Dollard, love Bubba. The OL showed it can grow and learn. The DL showed flashes of talent. Riley is out of his depth, he can not cover a #1 receiver. The coaches stepped up their game and had the team ready. My compliments to them. Looking ahead Kent looks good and BG can be our first win. Hope so.

I get what you are saying and I understand a turnaround takes time. But I am not seeing the stream of better talent into this team. I do not know if these coaches can recruit at the MAC level. For that matter, I have not seen that these coaches can coach. Watching games this season and last there has never been a game where I could say I see what the coaches are trying to do, but they don't have the talent to do it. Can Arth turn it around? I don't know. I come from a business world that judged on performance. If I judged the Zips on that the coaches would not fare well. I believe Zip fans want to believe in their program but they are getting little to cling to. When Arth holds pressers and boasts about how improved his team is and then they lose by 45 I begin to lose confidence in him and the staff. I would rather him say we are not ready and will have trouble competing than getting my hopes up only to be destroyed. I can't help but compare this situation to the one Groce inherited. Groce came to Akron very late in the game, but he still found a way to add talent. Granted, it didn't stick, yet from that season he built and got better players that fit his culture. He was always competitive. True, Bball needs fewer players but he also had fewer scholarships, fewer coaches, a poor facility and was late in recruiting. He got the job done. Both Kent and Miami turned their programs around in two years. So did OU when Solich got there. So did BG when Babers got there. My point is good coaches can ignite excitement in two years. Personally I am sick of the excuse that we are young and will be getting better every year. It is a philosophy that accepts losing, which we are getting way too good at.

I 100,000% support this statement.

I have it on good authority from someone high up in the program that the coaches voted to hold off on the Secret Santa drawing until after Thanksgiving. They apparently did not want to get the two holidays mixed up. Coach Arth argued against this saying "turkey stuffing is an appropriate gift for either Thanksgiving or Christmas".

Wrong my old soccer friend! Decoys are only useful if there is an outside chance they will actually be the target of a pass. Opposing defenses, and Zip fans, have long ago given up on the idea that our TE's could one day be thrown a pass.

My thoughts: Coaching - no improvement over last year OL - Young, high potential. My only fear is that is a close description to what we have had for our OL's for the last six years Tackling - poor, never hit and drove the ball-carrier back. They in turn always fell forward Play Calling - improved Special teams - sucked, the tradition continues Defense - small LB's, no penetration from the DL, not aggressive QB - Has the tools except for decision making. That is the one quality that is more inate than taught which limits his potential and future. Too many bad decisions. Secondary - bad, corners burnt regularly, no help from safeties Season Outlook - We only have five more weeks and I don't see a quick improvement. 0-6 is a real possibility.

But are you willing to go out on a limb and state we will be better than last year? Coming off 0-12 you would think that is a prediction that is easy to make, yet breaking a culture of inferiority will be a big task for this coaching staff. Bring on those fearless forecasts.

Very said that UA Athletic Administration couldn't have taken the high road. It would not take away from this announcement to thank Frenchy for his many, many years of dedication to broadcasting Zips football and say at a future date Frenchy would be recognized. That would be very classy. Frankly I have seen little from this athletic leadership that I would regard as high values driven.

I don't have a problem with his size if he has speed and nasty attitude. We can add size and strength but he must bring the speed and attitude with him. If he's got those two qualities the rest will follow. We actually have some strength in turning underdeveloped, overlooked recruits into decent players.

If I left you with the impression that I want this staff gone I apologize. I do not want to see change. I am comfortable with the situation we are in, namely we go with who we have during the length of their contract. It is my fervant hope that during that contract we see substantial proof that the staff can coach. I was just lamenting the fact that at present we have no evidence of that. I hope it comes, sooner rather than later would be preferred.

I admire your patience and optimism. You are keeping your expectations reasonable and that's a good thing. But while we are talking about expectations I have them of this coaching staff. Namely can they positively influence the outcome of a game. 0-12 was my answer. Last year I watched the staff closely to see if they could make strategic changes as the game went on. Could they outcoach the other team? Could they get the players to rise to their potential or even above it? Did they make our position groups better as the season wore on? I did not find a positive answer to any of those questions. Arth and his staff are our coaches. I want them to succeed. I have yet to see that they have the ability. Please prove me wrong and give us hope for the future. To me that boils down to winning a few games. Not a lot to ask.

We have evolved into a program that has potential ..... and always will. How about winning some games once in a while?

I liked Frenchy. He bled blue and gold and that made up for his announcing shortcomings. If he is gone he deserves a night of recognition at the JAR or in a big bar.

Can you spell project? I see very tough times for him living up to coach Groce's fitness expectations.

Seems to me he is saying there is no chance to experience winning at UA so he had better get out. It is sad but I agree with him. We will be lucky to win two this year. Hate to lose a local kid. Best of luck Jonah.

Count me amongst those who favor playing 12 on defense. This is the kind of thinking outside the box that has made America great. I suggest we hide our 12th man as an official. After all, who counts the number of officials on the field. Just imagine, he could line up behind the QB and than sack him right away. BTW, I got this idea by consulting iCoach and Milwee, two giants of the intellect.

Sorry, didn't mean to attach the laughing emoji to your post. It made me look silly and insensitive.

If Zipmeister does become commissioner He will undoubtedly do a better job than Steinbrecher and the idiots who pass as presidents. Why take two weeks to decide to resume play only to determine that play would begin five weeks later. Ryan Day at OSU said he only needed three weeks to prepare his team to play, but the MAC needs to give its members five weeks thus losing all the better weather weeks in a normal schedule. Doesn't anyone recall that this team has been practicing or training 12 hours a week, altho' w/o pads and hitting. The basic playbook is in. Lifting has been continuous, so has conditioning. Now we wait five weeks for a whole six games, with no makeup dates, in traditionally bad weather in the Midwest. If you really want to play for something give each team a final game like the Big Ten, such as 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, etc. If we are going after the coveted Tuesday and Wednesday night time slots in cold, wet weather, with no fans, we got what we wanted because no other self-respecting conference wanted them. Brilliant move. The MAC has self-certified it is masquerading as a legitimate conference only to confirm it is a joke. Sheeesh! Commissioner Meister ...... it has a good ring to it.

ZM, what makes you think I don't have one or two of them already in the house. My wife and girls hate 'em, but as I said, I loved the bowl. ?

I know this is hard to comprehend, but I loved the Rubber Bowl. When it got new turf and a facelift plus new benches it was an impressive place. The Zips had enough good games there whereby you were always hoping they could do it again. My memories are also impacted because my dad and I would go to most of the games. He loved to see the Zips play and enjoyed every minute there. I miss him, the bowl and good Zip football.

I am all in favor of any effort to be financially prudent while keeping athletics competitive. That being said, I've got to agree that the AD should have a staff of professionals whose job it is to do the work this committee is tackling. We all need outside consultants who may see things we can't, but this looks more like a political move that has a subtle goal of providing CYA to the administration. Oh well, maybe I'm too much of a cynic, but I see little out of UA these days that I would term "inspiring".

Isn't that your normal look, excepting, of course, the beer would be full ?.

I wish him luck but this is no big loss for us and maybe a good move for him to get more playing time at a lower division program. I can't see any DI program giving him playing time or a scholarship. Now on to the tragic issue of Dr. Z causing ESPN+ to go bankrupt. Someone has a to step in. Zipmeister, put those advanced degrees to work and solve this dilemma.