ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net

I say dump him today as well. I want to see a "statement firing" by the university. The statement: this season is lost and we all know it. Damn you JD for sucking so hard and ruining the inaugural season at Infocision. We will not accept the product you have put on the field. We're swapping coaches now, and if we continue to lose this season, guess what, we're still going to blame you. Any kids who don't like the firing or who don't perform from here on out, you can pack your bags too. This team has given up. This program is going to change its culture 180 degrees, and any losers who aren't ready to get on board, get the hell out.I liken it to the SF 49ers, who brought in Mike Singletary (sp?) mid-season last year, and you know what, that team still sucked and there was a huge amount of turmoil in the locker room the rest of the season. He basically threw players out to the street who weren't prepared to go with his program, like right now. This season, the 49ers look like an entirely different team, a completely different football culture, already. His deal? You accept my system, you play your damned heart out every play, we are going to be difference-makers. You don't accept ANY of that, get the hell out of my locker room, right now. Many of the posters here are fans who will buy tix and cheer the team regardless of their suckitude. As an aside, Sorry fellas, but I gotta say too that for those of you who religiously attended games at the Rubber Bowl I think you were nuts, almost suckers for putting up with such crappy football in such a nasty, decrepit facility. A little but of Stockholm Syndrome going on there? Anyway, posters here are generally the outliers. The average Akronite, who may have bought season tix for this year because of the Info, IS GOING TO WALK AWAY AFTER THIS YEAR if this team doesn't give them some reason to keep coming. You think 18K was bad? It'll be 12K before you know it with this team. We all want, need, deserve better. JD needs to go, and needs to be sent with malice.STZ

I would be more than happy at this point if this team would simply find a way to be entertaining. They have played dull, lifeless and uninspired football so far. It's getting difficult to get excited for the games. Is there any worse indictment of a college football team than to say that not only are they losing, but that they are boring to watch as well?STZ

Agreed Dr Z. The season has become an unmitigated distaster. If Nicely is anything but horrible he should play right away. What better way to learn the offense, learn gameday speed of play, than to get his feet wet. Rodgers has been truly horrible so far. If Nicely loses his redshirt, so what? I find it hard to believe that anybody would rather watch yesterday's offense and QB play the rest of the season than take a look at the kid. If he loses his redshirt but plays well, and if the team is better, than the net effect is better play and a need to recruit a follow-on a year earlier. I just don't think that this is the time to worry about losing a kid 4 years from now instead of 5. STZ Why? Best way to learn is to get in the game and play. The nice thing about our offense if you put Patrick in at QB, you get rid of the turnover machine that is Matt Rodgers, that should help the offense right there. I'm sure Patrick can throw a swing pass to the sidelines that isn't at the receivers feet every time. I bet he can throw a 25 yard pass over the middle that doesn't look like a wounded duck too. Looks like a full week of snaps for Matt didn't improve his QB skills. Wasn't there a JD quote in the spring that went something like this...Matt is really improving and coming along!?!? I watched the spring game this year and saw EXACTLY what I saw yesterday. I realize he is young and will get better, but if he is a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, is he going to ever get to a 6 or a 7...maybe, but I want a QB who is a 7 that has 9 or 10 potential.

Zips fan, your post suffers a bit from bad timing. Many of us here have been arguing for months now that the new facilities would help to create separation for UA, and it is my opinion that the Info was built with the idea of catalyzing the program into much bigger and better than the MAC has to offer. However, after seeing the Zips appear to have regressed on the field in such a depressing and demoralizing way this season, there are few who will entertain notions of grandeur for this program right now.I'm with you though, I very much look forward to BETTER COACHING, better recruiting, better teams and eventual move into a better conference. STZ

The SDS? Stands for Shot-Draw-Suck.

Rankings mean nothing. It is what goes on on the court that makes a team a national power. Winning the MAC is a good start, but they need to win an NCAA game. Right now, they are not even close to becoming a national power. I go to ACC basketball games....they have national powers playing. I can assure you UofA basketball is many years away from getting to that point. I do enjoy their success, but I can't kid myself.Just when I was wondering when The Great GP1 would remind us of his current place of residence, since it's been at least 15 minutes since the last time, he busts in with a reminder. Great, since none of the rest of us have likely ever watched ACC BB teams play. Do ACC teams play on TV?"The Great" STZ

Answer: Bringing in good players year after year. Stadiums, tradition, etc. do not win games. Good players win games. Our soccer team brings in one good player after another year in and year out. Coaches come and go, but the talent remains high. Our soccer stadium has yet to win a game...the players do.Fans love football, m & w basketball, but some MAC schools get good at a sport like soccer at UofA or hockey at Miami and they really focus on those sports. Miami has gotten to the point where they use their horrible football team to fund the athletic department. They play three BCS teams and one top team in Boise State with no illusions of having a winning record. At this point, I doubt they care whether or not anyone even comes to the football games. They don't play a game on campus until October....do they really think anyone is going to drive out to Oxford to watch an 0-4 team play. They pump that BCS money into the athletic department and support a top ranked hockey team with it.UofA needs to decide what it wants to be great at. Getting great at everything at a MAC school is unrealistic. Is it football? Is it basketball? Or is it easier to maintain a top ranked program in soccer rather than "growing" the other programs that may never become top ranked.OK, then for you GP1, what brings in good players?Winning. Players that want to win go to winning programs. Players that want to play in nice stadiums, get involved in rebuilding, etc. are motivated by those reasons. We nned to do some winning in order to attract winners.I believe good soccer players come to UofA because they want to win. It sure isn't the fancy stadium they play in. It isn't the coach because we have turnover in that position.GP1, it sounds like you played, or were somehow involved in FB at UA back in your day. Great. You're apparently knowledgeable about football, but your reasoning is circular beyond belief. According to you, facilities don't win games, players win games. When asked what brings in good players, your answer? Winning. Surely you can see the silliness and lack of reasoning in your answers and arguments here. Unless winning programs materialize out of the ether, only THEN to draw winning players to keep the winning going, and to bring funds for facilities, you clearly have NO explanation for what the things are that truly make a winning program.I will also riddle you this: if you in fact earned your college football knowledge by being a part of the UA program, a program you essentially denigrate as being a hopeless and perpetual loser forever more, how can you possibly know ANYTHING about winning football programs? I'm starting to think you know everything, except the possible fact that you in fact know very little."The Great" STZ

Ah, but Cap'n, are you completely confident that Proenza is going to give Wistrcill any of the leeway that you infer? Is it not just as likely that even if Wistrcill were willing to muddle through a half-assed season, that from his perch High Atop Infocision Stadium (where the fireplace will soon be lit as the weather changes) Proenza will become incensed at the lack of traction being gained by this program in their first and only inaugural season at the New House? <<<---I defy you to come up with a better run-on than that by the way.I think that Wistrcill was hired more for his marketing acumen than for anything else, and is it not safe to assume that Proenza and the board are going to exert much more influence over the program than they ever have in the past? How does 6-6 or 7-5 do anything to move this program in the right directions? 6-6 or 7-5 are simply more of the same. Same crappy product, shiny new digs. It doesn't work. Who buys into that? You really think the status quo will hold sway here, this year? I don't see how it adds up.I will end this post with a GO ZIPS! CRUSH THAT LEFLAVOR OR LEFLAVIE FAVE OR WHATEVER HIS NAME IS.STZ

I'm with you ITZ, but I have to believe that there were deep-seated problems/issues that were causal factors in the thefts, their long-running nature and the fact that things were held so close to the vest when he was dismissed. We can hope that UA and Jacq's family are getting him the help he needs to move forward in a positive way. Hopefully he'll turn it all around from here. GO ZIPS!STZ

Great to hear about Jason Taylor being so supportive. I also had no idea that he had been so good to UA since his playing days in Akron. We all need a little heart-warming scoop like that right now. Now, to the present. All I have to say about the state of the Zips, and JD's status is:GO ZIPS!!!!!! BEAT THE CHIPS!!!!!! MAKE US PROUD FELLAS. Seriously, kick some ass out there tomorrow. STZ

This is utter gibberish. Let's clear one thig up first. In 20 years, what happens this year does not matter.Secondly, as I read this board, there are more people who have been posting here for years who would rather have the football program fail so they could say "I told you so" than people who want the best for the program....just read the board over the past five day. Failure is actually desired by these Browns fans.And another thing: you accusing someone else on the board of wanting failure for the Zips program? You're kidding right? Pointing out the situation as I see it in NO way amounts to hoping against the program. Where do you get that from?

This is utter gibberish. Let's clear one thig up first. In 20 years, what happens this year does not matter.Secondly, as I read this board, there are more people who have been posting here for years who would rather have the football program fail so they could say "I told you so" than people who want the best for the program....just read the board over the past five day. Failure is actually desired by these Browns fans.Tell the President of the university, who has thrust the football program into a "cornerstone" position for the institution, literally and figuratively, that those points are gibberish. I doubt that he'll agree with you when he has to find the funds to pay the first interest payment against the stadium debt. If you don't think that there is a new dynamic and a new sense of urgency regarding the state of the football program, you're kidding yourself down there in Ya'll Land.STZ

JD is a big boy. He knew the deal-with-the-devil that coaches must make to persevere in their chosen profession. I'm pulling for JD AND more importantly, the team. EAT 'EM UP, EAT 'EM UP, GOOO ZIIIPPPPSSS!STZ

My random thought is TAILGATING. These words now go together: Tailgating, downtown, UA lots, on campus....Now let's grow this puppy.STZ

Quit hating on JD, he has passion unlike a few players that have tried to bring him down and some fans also..What is about some here who believe that anything other than pure wishful front-running boosterism is so terrible? Baller, I see where you're coming from, and dude I buy my tickets and cheer as loudly as anyone at the park. I'm a graduate who, after living away for most of the last 20 years, moved back here and care about my alma mater as much as anyone here. I also own a house in the city of Akron, so my future financial well-being is directly tied to the fate of this city. It makes no sense to me that when some here raise issues with coaching and on-field performance, as well as the larger context in which those issues play out, we are considered to be spewing hatred or are disloyal the team. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I'm not really disagreeing, but your post made a point clear for me.Our problem is not the youngsters. Teams go through periods where they might have more young than old or visa versa.The problem is not talent. There is more overall talent on this team than ever.The problem is turning the talent into a winning/watchable team. I blame everyone for that. The coaches and the players are to blame.What does watchable mean? How about not allowing the other team to run the ball up the middle for five yards on third and four? How about if our running backs don't go down on first contact? How about if our QB doesn't turn the ball over time and again? How about if when we hit the other team's ball carrier, it doesn't take five guys to bring him down and he gains 2-3 extra yards in the process? How about if we tackle better? How about something other than 2nd and 9 or 10? How about better play calling? How about a punter that can kick the ball further than me...It's freaking D-1A football for crying out loud? All of this makes for bad football. Bad football, like bad baseball, is unwatchable. The people of NE Ohio are not stupid....they are not going to pay their hard earned money to watch bad football. We've been seeing these things happen for 20+ years with different coaches and different players.If JD is let go at the end of the year, the AD should tell the next coach to retain as many players as possible (don't do what Syracuse did) and toughen them up in spring practice. Can a new coach put a heart into a talented filled but heartless team?GP1, it seems that there are only a few here who are putting the larger picture together. I've posted dozens of times arguments that boil down to:(1) Proenza's prestige and legacy are now tied to the football program, primarily through UA's bet on Infocision.(2) Proenza hired Wistrcill, clearly a marketing guy who has been hired to raise the profile of UA football and to SELL TICKETS.(3) UA is obligated to make substantial payments on debt associated with Infocision.(4) Infocision is NOT your typical MAC stadium, and IMO was built with an eye toward building this team into more than a MAC power.(5) Items 1-4 above will all FAIL without performance on the football field. The days of crappy UA football and NE Ohio fan apathy must become a thing of the past to satisfactorily answer items 1-4.(6) There is a finite window of opportunity to capitalize on this opportunity, which is why I believe that Wistrcill is breathing down JD's neck for the team to perform. Whether this dynamic should exist is debatable, but our current situation is sort of "be careful what you wish for". From Proenza, to Wistrcill, to JD, to the players, to all of us, we ALL want better. Well, with better facilities and the resulting spotlight come EXPECTATIONS, of the administration, coaches and players. We're all about supporting the team, and the coaching staff, but this thing is really much bigger than all of them at this point. They are now all inextricably intertwined with the dreams, aspirations and desires of a chain of people that leads all the way to Proenza and beyond, in a very real and very personal way. That was never the case when UA football was played at the Rubber Bowl. All of them perform, collectively, and generate interest and resulting revenue, or they'll be replaced, and much sooner than most posters here are prepared to admit. STZ

The board has been rallying to the Zips today but I have to agree with the few who are posting that if the team really eats dust this Saturday, I will not be the least bit surprised if Wistrcill lets JD go before the end of the weekend. Again, lest we forget, Infocision needs mucho butts in the seats. To think that this coaching staff and team will be allowed to limp through more games is folly. The universe to JD:"The good news is that you're facilities are going to become absolutely first rate, beautiful! You will also have an AD over you who is going to SELL the hell out of thte program. The bad news is that because of the above-noted good news, you will immediately be on the hot seat, before you ever get to the 2009 MAC schedule. And by hot, I mean red sizzling hot. Oh, before I forget, your team is going to lose two of three to start the season. Oh, and by the way, your senior QB is going to break it off in your back side. Oh, and one of your 300-pounders will be arrested two days later for felony assault. Good luck big fella."We'll see soon enough, and damn it I hope this team shocks me. I just don't think they will. STZ

We will see what the results of the investigation reveal.Like many members of the football staff, Coach Ferri has been a tremendous supporter of ZipsNation. I first contacted him in 2004, asking for information regarding the Zips program that I wasn't getting from the Beacon. He agreed on one condition - "That nothing ever be asked negatively about the Zips program." I kept to that.I've spoken to him many times over the past several years. If you have enjoyed any of my recruiting or program updates, you might as well thank him. As many of you know, the guy went out of his way to give a commentary and review of the 2009 recruiting class to many of us at the OBC last spring. I don't need to tell you how rare it is for a coach to embrace the fans from a message board. But he did.He's a West Point graduate. Father of two toddlers, and as solid a man as I have ever met. He deserves the benefit of the doubt at this time.Agreed all the way around. Hopefully this will blow over and become too much ado about nothing. I attended the presentation at OBC last year and thought coach seemed a great guy, very likable and professional. If I had a kid being recruited Ferri seemed the kind of coach I would respect and trust.STZ

Man it surely is nice to come to the BB boards and read about the positive growth aspects of the Zips' basketball program. Wonderful coach who is also a community guy, nationally prominent recruit, with more on the way, solid discussion of a new arena in the wind, coming off of a trip to the big dance, the LeBron effect, it goes on and on. What a great change of pace from the week the football program is having!GO ZIPS!STZ

Here's hoping that Matt pulls a rabbit out of the CMU hat and the Zips shock us with a win. Man, what a sweet victory that will be. We need that, a lot.

My major concern is the coaching. We've seen that there is talent on this roster, including the o-line. I know that at some point the players have to play, but it seems that the o-line has regressed this year so far, and don't get me started on special teams play. I just have to think that coaching is a major issue in those phases. Mostly the same players, likely same intensity and overall conditioning, could it be schemes and play calling that have been the problem? I'm not enough of an expert to make those calls but I still feel compelled to wonder about the coaching, especially Montgomery calling the O. Come on Shane!Come on Rodgers!Come on DeVoe and AA!Come on O-Line!Come on Bowser!Let's DO IT TO IT THIS WEEKEND! Let's get this thing turned around!STZ

Nice job catching us on the down swing. Piss off d-bag CMU troll. This year's edition of CMU football held AZ to 19 points at their place, despite our offense playing its worst game in two years. It also just beat an MSU team on the road that most predictions have finishing in the middle of the Big Ten or higher. And, for the first time in awhile, CMU dominated a team that it should have dominated. I realize that you played IU right after your team received a big shock, but it seems the shocks are not done coming yet (possible asst coach suspensions?), and this game is not in the friendly confines of your new stadium.With Jacquemain, I think you'd give us a very close game, which is typical when our teams hook up. With Rodgers still finding his way, CMU wins by double digits and may even cover the spread.

Doing what? If we're talking rumors, as fan sites are want to do, what is the substance of this rumor? Everybody here knows who we're talking about, but there have been no names mentioned, so no names, but what sort of infractions are included in the rumors? STZ

You could certainly tell the coaches were uncomfortable in that last video baller. I thought it was kinda funny, but I also very much liked that the new AD carted these guys in front of the cameras to promote their teams and to MARKET the weekend's events. Bravo to him. In D-1 college football, head coaches are handsomely rewarded monetarily, and as $$$ becomes a bigger part of the college game they should understand that part of their job is to SELL the program to the communities around them. JD is certainly much less exposed than coaches at larger programs, the programs he likely aspires to. To JD and Caleb, get used to it guys. Get comfortable. Being cheesy and selling your programs is going to be a big part of your future if you stay in this line of work.GO ZIPS! GO WISTRCILL! SELL, SELL, SELL!BEAT CMU!STZ

Shhhh. I think he meant WinZip Oh, I guess I didn't realize that there were (1) WinZip and (2) ZipsWin.Uh oh, I think I just annoyed BOTH of them.Oh YES I DID! STZ