72 Roo

Skip and 92, This principle points out that the Zips have a hell of a lot to do to change the culture to one of consistent success. That is why this season is so heart-breaking. We thought we were on our way. In the face of lack of past success change still can occur it is just a harder roe to hoe. Perhaps next year will bring the success we are crave and we build from there. We know we will have a pretty good team. To Skip's point a coach with a track record of success is very desirable if the conditions of his new job are similar. An example of where the conditions are not similar is a DIII coach going to DI or coach Faust going from Moeller to ND. Happy Thanksgiving guys. I wish all the nation the best of holiday. I am grateful for this forum. Thanks to the creators.

Kreed, man you are definitely a "glass is half full" kind of guy. God bless you. I'm glad you are a Zip. We need more like you. As for the Browns, Haslam has no clue as to how to run a team. He does know how to not pay promised rebates and incur a 1 billion dollar fine from the dept of justice to make it all go away , but that is another story. One principle I have always believed in, and my company operates under, is that past performance is the biggest and truest measure of future success. Do you really believe this Browns management team can wisely use draft choices? Remember two of the three highest management positions on the team have never worked in pro football. I believe all Haslam has done is to succeed in making the Browns irrelevant in the lives of NE Ohioans. That is something I thought was impossible. So I guess he is capable of great things. With that track record let's keep him away from the Zips. Happy Thanksgiving my friend.

You are right. Doesn't that just make you sick. We should have taken them several times, but the score is all that counts and we didn't. I need a beer!

Sure, look what analytics are doing for the Browns.

Skip, You may want to reread what I said. I never said we would have 2-3 bad years ahead. I said it would take 2-3 years to remove the bad taste of this season. It will take that long to establish credibility. That's all I meant. We could have done that this season with a 7-5 or 8-4 record. It would have served to show we are for real. That clock now needs to be rewound and started again. BTW, I was not amongst those who said OU was superior to us. The game last night again showed they suck, but so do we. Thanks for your posts. I enjoy them.

The Game: 1) Natson must catch that ball. He didn't. Stop the alibi's. He failed in that moment 2) the D played OK only when judging them against themselves. They are still lousy 3) This team has no discipline 4) No discipline, no heart 5) Goodman did as good as he could. he's a hero in my mind 6) OU sucks. OU beat us. Where does that put us. It's obvious. The Season: 1) Our biggest gain next year will be if Bowden fires/reassigns Milwee. Milwee is not ready to be a coordinator and has proved it in spades. 2) Objectively, the offensive staff is below par 3) This team has no discipline. That's on the coaching staff. They do not demand it. 4) Injuries happen, stop using them as an alibi 5) As said by another poster, our depth sucks and that's due to recruiting. It has sucked. 6) Start next year with an open competition at QB. I will take a dual threat QB (Cato) over a superior passer any day. 7) Joe Akron has not embraced the Zips b/c he knows good football. We do not consistently play good football. In fact this season we rarely played good football. Let's stop complaining about Joe Akron and start earning his support. 8) I support Bowden and expect him to make the corrections to the staff that will lead us to a better season. I want him to succeed. 9) We have a good team coming back and/or awaiting eligibility. All is not lost, but we did take a step backward this season and it will take 2-3 seasons to erase the bad taste of this season. 10) Silly me. I thought we had a shot at 8-4. Zip fans dream. 11) I believe in my heart of hearts that we should be at the top of the MAC. We lost an opportunity to get there this year.

I don't especially like the new uni's. First, we are blue and gold not white and grayish-blue. Second the university seal on the shorts cannot be recognized because it is too small. It looks like a blotch on the side. I would rather have had our Z in it's place. Can we please get back to a gold uni. I do like the Zippy head on the other side of the shorts. That's cool. It's unique. It's us.

Play calling plays a big factor I'd say. Chapman's strengths aren't the same as Woodson's yet Akron OC is stubborn in not wanting to alter his game plan to fit the strengths of his QB. With Chapman in they should do more QB draws, bubble screens, and higher percentage passes over the middle of the field. Instead they still try to dial up the long ball even though that's not his strength. That brings me to another point. Am I the only one that thinks Milwee needs to go? Milwee is out of his depth and should be replaced. My concern is that Bowden is so loyal to him that he will not make the tough call to reassign or fire him. Milwee is too predictable. He has forgotten the TE. He also has a passion for the deep ball rather than taking what the defense gives. I believe that replacing the OC is the single biggest improvement the Zips can make for next year.

Skip... Agreed. Next year our offense may even be better. The line may even learn to run block. But the OC position needs serious re-evealuation. i hope Bowden has the courage to look for more help. I know he likes Millwee, but that relationship should not stop him from improving the offensive coaching. I'm not sure Amato is the problem on D but the talent sure as hell is. A drastic upgrade is needed to get that side of the ball to just be average. I hope there is help in the transfer area or JC's. I don't see any freshmen talent that would come to Akron being able to improve this pathetic unit. BTW, let's stop this insane talk of canning Bowden. He can turn this around and is doing so. I am as frustrated as any ZN member, and Buffalo was inexcusable, but TW needs the time. Our situation is bad and it will take time to turn around. That is done in little steps. TW is making them.

Pathetic. Nothing short of pathetic. Bowden needs give critical review of both his coordinators. On O Buffalo knew what we were going to do each play, whereas our D was kept guessing all game long by what Buffalo would do. where the hell is any creativity on O and resolve on D.

If ever there was a case for cruel and unusual punishment this picture is it. I urge the mods to immediately launch an investigation as to why the Captain, a mod himself, would bring this photo to the board. He obviously is a sadist. Meanwhile I am now off to therapy. Hopefully photos of TB and Gorden Larsen can bring me back from the brink of despair. Oh the inhumanity of it all!

Blue and Gold, where did you go to watch the replay of the game. I did not see it on Saturday and would love to watch it even if it is over.

LA Zip, You make some good points. I like Matt, but it may have been better for he and the university if the search was longer and more thorough. I believe he would have emerged as the top candidate BTW. The immediate goals and strategy of UA should be spelled out clearly. That didn't happen and I believe it was because this board of trustees does not have the expertise to turn our situation around. Our last chairman was horrible and his recent removal points that out. The rest of the board are primarily political appointments with no love or passion for UA and/or greater Akron. The exception is the recent appointment of Bill Scala, the president of Kenmore Construction and unabashed Akron supporter. He is a great future chairman. Our politicians should get together and decide to get a strong board together. They can get Kasich to appoint who they want. The next appointment should be Bill Considine, the CEO of Akron Children's, former student body president and deep lover of UA. But he called out the board for not firing Scar and some of the trustees now dislike that he noted their incompetence. Without a strong board to support him Matt will have to rise above them and be as strong a leader as Proenza was. The board then will follow, but they, as currently constituted, are not capable of leading. That's all on Matt's shoulders. And all the risk will be his too.

Nice analysis. I disagree when reviewing the play of Pittman and hamilton. I feel they are both underachievers. They take plays off and don't muster any passion when they are out there. Thier talent is top of the MAC, but their effort is bottom of the MAC. Our D has to find a way to get better. I agree the LB's are not a factor in the game. That being said, I'd give more time to the younger guys like Lako if the vets aren't getting it done. In the end I can't see us competing with Toledo or WMU (again) with what we have. The are better teams.

There is indeed something wrong with the team. Jared is a good coach but he has to fix it now. the team has incredible talent. they are capable of winning it all if they stick together and play as they should. There's something wrong, but that is internal to the team and not for us to know. they know hat it is and they have to fix it. I'm talking p[layers and coaches. This team can still be great!

That third pine tree will get you every time. Happened me in shop class. I'm surprised P.J. and the boys took offense. We were only trying to get some extra credit work in before the game by making a present for Terry for use during his fishing trips.

Balsey I couldn't agree more. The culture is changing. Not fast enough for me, but it is changing. Sometimes we are so close to the situation that we can't see it and we, me included, get very frustrated. But change is coming and we have to stick with it, support Zip sports and hold people accountable. We are going to get there. We have good people guiding us. But for now let's beat Western. What a beautiful thing to happen. Go Zips.

Damn right! At the end of the day we need to do it regardless of what stands in our way. Well said! C'mon Zips, this progrum is moving up.

We have our work cut out for us against Western, but we never believed the Marshall game would play out like it did and look what happened. Some of the key players in that game are doubtful. Losing Woody, JoJo, Marcus and Ball is not what any of us foresaw as we looked to this game in early Sept. We need a "next man up" attitude and we need to believe in our coaches. We are probably going to be big underdogs, but the D is getting better and the O can still score. Losing JoJo hurts , yet we are deepest at WR. Woody may be back, while Chapman continues to get better and produces. The running game desperately needs Ball back. I hope he and Woody can go. We become a different team with them. Too many question marks for this game. It is for big time legitimacy. Our progrum has worked to get to this point. I, for one, choose to believe we will be ready, but don't ask me how right now.

Thanks Dr. Z. I really enjoy your work.

Kreed, you make a great point. Our D is undisciplined. i don't know how you solve that other than practice, experience and accountability. They are not as bad as they look if they execute the scheme. The tackling is so obvious as a weakness. I hope they work on it daily. If the D matures faster we may be able to make a run at the west that has three damn good teams.

Thanks so much for the write-up Capt. I could not attend and you helped me capture some of the atmosphere of a great game. I appreciate all the time you took to do it right. If we start a fund to get Joe Dunn some new jacket gear count me in. i know Joe and he is a good guy.

I have heard from a former dept head at UA that Matt is a great relationship builder but has questionable strategic thinking skills. I don't know about that but I do believe that he is building a strong case for removing the interim title. Scar was devisive. Matt seems to have an ability to get the best out of everyone and get all of us pulling oars in the same direction. I'd be comfortable with him keeping the job. I place a lot of value in people who are passionate about what they do and believe in making the place better by working thru others.

The university will not solve the student attendance problem until they change the culture, the hardest thing to do in any organization. They keep trying stop-gap measures which don't get at the heart of the matter. There should be a coordinated and concerted effort to let students know from the moment they step on campus that they should be involved in sports and extracurriculars. That effort should continue throughout the year. Students will come to games if they feel they belong (I'm home) and they have a sense of ownership (this is my school/team). I agree that the games are horribly managed from an event point of view. But that can change. One simple goal should be held for all involved, make the games fun and students will show up. I agree that students need to be given more input on how to mange the game day experience. Some of my best memories of life at UA come from things the students created not one administration planned. We thought if we built a nice stadium they would come. They didn't. We thought if we built more dorms they would come. They didn't. We have the parts to solve this issue but no one is putting them all together. Matt Newhouse brings hope but he can't do it alone. The university needs to have a total commitment to engaging, educating and empowering the students to attend games. Sure we are still suffering from Ianello and the Scar, two total incompetents. But we have to move past them and say it's up to the university community to bring the students out. All on this board want that but we can't do it alone. See you in Detroit.

FWIW I want to offer my late post on the App State game. Shame on our students for not supporting this team. There's a lot of talk about attendance in that mainly we all want more fans there. Joe Akron won't show up until Akron games become an "event". The students have to make it so. This game was perfect weather, good opponent, and a lot on the line. Our 3,500 students in the dorms and an equal amount living within 1 mile of the Info ought to be ashamed for their support of their school's team. I can't wait until the culture changes and the students get off their ass. We can't do it w/o them. Our DE's are overrated. ASU repeatedly ran outside and we had no containment. Millwee is back to being predictable in play calling. His counterpart constantly had us guessing. Amato also needs to up his game. Our D, especially the DL, brings little to no pressure on the QB Our special teams are below MAC standards. This starts with coaching and Terry has to hold Jeff accountable. The sky is not falling, we just lost a golden opportunity to position ourselves for a take-notice season. We still have a bright season left and we will achieve it. ASU was as good as any MAC leader, except maybe WMU. Keep the faith. Terry got us this far. He can take us farther. I welcome any criticism of my thoughts.