Dr Z

I think it's an awful way to lose the game, but four posts up, I gave Malcolm the MVP. Malcolm could actually use the truck too. Gisele won't be seen in that big ugly red truck. Terrible idea making it red btw. I thought it was interesting that Malcolm was so filled with emotion that he couldn't even describe the play to an NBC reporter. I turned over to the NFL channel and caught another interview where he did describe recognizing the formation and saw RW3 look toward him before the snap. I was rooting for the Foot Locker worker, and former Cleveland Brown (until they cut him) to get the MVP. One day, around this time last year, his phone rings. It’s a Seahawks official, and they want Matthews to come to a tryout. Tonight. Matthews looks at watch, pauses, and says, “I don’t get off of work until 9 p.m. I don’t know if I’ll make it.” “Alright,” the caller said. “We’ll let you know.” Click. A few minutes later, Matthews agent calls. “What are you thinking! Get yourself home, pack up and go. Are you out of your mind?!” Matthews made the flight. Source. Way to stay classy Bevell OC, play caller Darrell Bevell: "We could have done a better job staying strong on the ball" Lockette breaking on final slant. I was surprised to read Marshawn Lynch's comment on the last play, when asked about it. Bud Shaw wrote a few funnies on the play call. He includes Dwight Clark's tweet "That was the dumbest play call in the HISTORY of NFL football." Bud also includes: One ESPN.com headline flatly stated "Pete Carroll Botches The Super Bowl." And included the following comment: Timothy Robinson · Top Commenter: I'm Rob Lowe and I have Direct TV. "I'm incredibly stupid Rob Lowe and I call a pass play when I have the most powerful running back in the NFL one yard away from winning the Super Bowl for me, and I have cable. (Hey, Pete. Don't be THIS Rob Lowe!)" Emitt Smith, among others, call it the worst playcall in the history of football.

You call a timeout there (after running the play clock to 1 second). Period. Biggest mistake. They would have NEVER called that play if they talked it over on the sidelines. The Hawks last playcall, come in late, and the players weren't even lined up properly. Get your head straight, and get your team on the same page. Call timeout, and set up two plays with options. Hawks win game over. Bad decision. I made this comment out loud as they were trying to get lined up, so an NFL coach should be in the same mindset. Hell, I might have called timeout just to enjoy the moment some more before I hoisted the trophy. Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell says the play call that may have ultimately cost his team the Super Bowl was made with the game clock in mind. The Seahawks had second-and-goal at the New England 1 with 26 seconds to go Sunday, but instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch, Seattle ran a slant route intended for Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in the 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots. "We were conscious of how much time was on the clock and we wanted to use it all," Bevell said. "It didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. "Of course I can say now I wish we had done something different. There are 20 different things going through my mind that we can do. If you run it that doesn't mean you would score on that play." Source The worst call, was not giving Malcolm Butler the MVP. I know Brady is the media darling, but Butler made one of the biggest plays in SB history to SAVE Brady's third loss in a SB (all post Spygate, I don't count any victories before that, because he shouldn't even have been there). If Brady doesn't give that MVP truck to Butler, he is out of his mind.

Most sports fans that can't evaluate what they see on the playing field, place way too much "value" (as you write) on stats. My favorite to read in area papers is how (fill in any Browns QB since 99) first season's stats were similar to Troy Aikman's. In Troy's first year he went 1-15 with some awful QB rating. Then he went on to win multiple SB's and is in the HOF. So there you go, every Browns QB for the last two decades will do the same because their stats were similar to Troy's his first year. I haven't read it about Johnny Cocktail yet, but if you dig, I'm sure it's there, because lots of people in this area have STAV...that's the 'Statistical Troy Aikman Virus'™. The only cure is education and trusting your eyes. Good luck. Staying on topic, Manziel is headed to rehab.

Here you go.

This article should have ended after the first sentence.

Great suggestion. I do this often. I like what the NFL channel does for preseason games, one half home announcers, one half visitors announcers.

I watched the first half, that was all I could take. I would describe the Zips offense in one word, "painstaking." That won't fill seats at any facility.

Hover over the user you want to ignore, and select. I encourage members to use this, you can personalize your experience at ZipsNation with the click of a button.

Coach Bowden has repeated this multiple times publicly "we need to find a way to win at Akron." During a conversation with a small group of ZN members he told us a few years back (paraphrasing) "I don't like my QB to run because when he is at the bottom of the pile it's hard for him to get back to the line of scrimmage and get lined up." The fact that he wants a dual QB shows that he is willing to alter/evolve his thinking and look for new ways (for him) to 'win at Akron.' Love it. And I LOVE the heavy emphasis on recruiting south FLA. That's where I would get my physical X receiver (the guy on the line) that can get down field. If we can get this, the rest of the receivers will fall into position. Defenses killed us at this position last year, and once our guy got jammed. And it was rare our QB looked back over there crippling the timing of the rest of the routes. I thought for sure we would score this guy (X) from a junior college, or a transfer this off season. This is one of my bigger concerns behind QB and RB, but to my understanding, those are being addressed.

It was tweeted out @AkronZips. Any fan can go. Sometimes the local recruits are there.

I wish somebody covered Akron/Cleveland sports with the passion, information and intelligent opinion that Dejan does. He does the job of multiple people in this area, and loves every minute of it. One of the best in the business IMO, even though he forgot to answer Cameron Wake to Joshua's question. Dejan writes about the Lemonator. Joshua Wolf: Any thoughts on Shawn Lemon, the CFL player the Steelers signed recently? I know that some CFL players have successfully transitioned to the NFL on the offensive side of the ball, but have there been any defensive players who have made a career in the NFL after starring in the CFL? DK: Glad someone brought this up. Lemon is a neat case. He’s 26, he’s 6-2, 250 and basically built for a 3-4 outside linebacker, and he finished his season in Calgary with 13 sacks and a league-record-tying eight forced fumbles. Stop right there. I don’t care if you’re playing in a Bloomfield flag league, if you’ve got eight forced fumbles, you’ve got a nose for the football. And hands. And aggressiveness. And, oh, yeah, he calls himself the Lemonator! I’m not suggesting he’ll jump right onto the field, but given the highly uncertain statuses of Jason Worilds, James Harrison and Arthur Moats, it’s kind of important that the Steelers add depth beyond Jarvis Jones. This seems like an inspired start.

Odd topic title. You could have just added to the topic you started in November with a similar theme. Dambrot recruited Zeke and IJ23, so "lucky" would be an odd way to describe some amount of work that was involved with both playing basketball at the University of Akron. I don't think "lucky" would be a way to describe Pat's situation at Akron either. Here is a quote from him, “Akron is where my dad’s eye doctor is,” Forsythe said. “I was getting interest from Cleveland State and other schools, but Akron was the one that is more convenient for my father and I. It was very important to come back and play locally. I wanted to be closer to my dad, my stepmom and my siblings.” One might argue that Pat was lucky that Akron was able to oblige his situation. Let's hope that in the end, it benefits both. I'll see how the minutes play out tonight (Pat vs IJ23) before, or if, I comment on the rest of your post. Would this have anything to do with injury (Pat's mouth)? Or is it motivation for one, or both players? Being a nine and a half point favorite at home would be a good time to experiment with lineups. Is it a possible matchup strategy? You might want to listen to Dambrot speak on the radio (1350 AM) after the game. Seems like a question Steve or JJ may ask.

ESPN Vikings reporter Ben Goessling fully expects "bigger and better things" from Teddy Bridgewater in Year 2. Bridgewater recorded the third-highest completion percentage (64.4) and seventh-highest passer rating (85.2) by a rookie in NFL history. He did it even though Cordarrelle Patterson was a liability, Kyle Rudolph was hurt, Adrian Peterson missed 15 games and he was learning Norv Turner's offense for the first time. Over the final six weeks of the season, Bridgewater was fantasy's No. 10 QB and he'll bring serious QB2 appeal heading into 2015 -- especially if the Vikings bring back Peterson. ESPN: source Anyone agreeing with Merril's September comments these days? Blake Bortles has a lot to work on this offseason to improve on a somewhat lackluster rookie season as the starter. To help kick things off, Bortles is going to hold a passing camp in California and has invited a lot of his teammates to join him. "Anybody that runs a route and catches passes is invited," Bortles told Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union. "I've talked to everybody, and everybody's in." Source

I would be interested in those names too. I'm pretty ignorant to college basketball because I really only follow MAC basketball and some of Akron's ooc opponents. I used to really enjoy it, but I'm starting to miss good college basketball since the MAC has been down for so long. I was impressed with the Jim Larrañaga interviews before the Zips game, he seems to have a great understanding of offense and how to simplify it. It reminded me of Huggins when he was at Akron, I loved listening to him explain his offense. I also enjoy watching VCU games, I think Shaka does a great job. Agreed. I would love to play a game, turn around the next day, switch coaches and see what happens with the same two teams. I thought about that often with Charlie Coles.

***PLEASE use purple text when posting in this thread*** Zips nine and a half point favorites. Ball State (7-10, 2-4 MAC) at Akron (13-6, 4-2 MAC) Television: None. Webcast and Live Stats: Available at GoZips.com – webcast and live statistics free of charge. Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) and for free at GoZips.com/TuneIn. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) will have the call beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Akron-Ball State Series: Akron leads the series 19-15 and is riding an 11-game winning streak. The Zips are 11-5 in Akron, winning the last seven games. UA swept the season series last year, including a 73-46 win at the JAR on Jan. 29, 2014. Akron's last loss at BSU came on March 8, 2004, in the opening round of the MAC Tournament (76-72). More info found at go Zips dot com.

Totally agree with Calhoun. Who are the top three college coaches in the country who get the most out of the talent on their team?

_"You GOTTA be kidding me?"___"No doubt about it" ___

Hell, I wish the people that get paid by the U would feel that way. GO #TeamAkron !! Thanks for posting ME87, pretty cool to see a walk-on (underdog) get a shot.

Didn't Jeremy Hill do the same in the NFL this year. I recall his team getting waxed by a team. He made a similar comment, then went out and returned the favor. Sports are the ultimate reality show. David may just get his chance when it counts.

Great idea, I'm looking forward to seeing the big difference between DiG and professional oddsmakers.

Realize both and you'll discover moneyline 101 young Skywalker. Hint, KD is the goose that laid the golden egg, but there are other great opportunities in the Mac yearly. Bobcats beat UB on last second Ndour slam dunk featured on Sports Center this morning. Athens goes crazy as Maurice Ndour scored a career-high 31 points, including the game-winning dunk with 0.6 seconds to play, and Ohio beat Buffalo 63-61 on Saturday.

Zips 3 point underdogs. Source: GoZips dot com. Akron (12-6, 3-2 MAC) at Western Michigan (13-5, 4-1 MAC) Television: None. Webcast and Live Stats: Available at GoZips.com – live statistics free of charge. Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) and for free at GoZips.com/TuneIn. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) will have the call beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Akron-Western Michigan Series: The Zips lead the overall series, 23-19, and are 7-11 in Kalamazoo vs. the Broncos. Akron won the first meeting this season, 72-52, in Akron on Jan. 6. The Zips have won 13 of the last 16 in the series. Scouting the Broncos: Western Michigan enters today's game with a 13-5 overall record and is 4-1 in MAC play. The Broncos have won four-straight since losing their MAC opener to the Zips and are 7-0 at home. Four Broncos are scoring in double figures, including David Brown (15.2 ppg), Connar Tava (14.7 ppg), Tucker Haymond (13.2 ppg) and Austin Richie (11.4 ppg). Tava leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg).

Thanks. Now I know why your infofan, good info. Just from seeing the moving pictures of Pat on the bench after the injury, I would be surprised if he's not back Saturday. If he played hockey, he might have missed a line shift, but probably not.

Booooooooo. My 5 year old nephew can come up with that marketing...cough cough..."strategy." It's easy to do nothing and sit back and say "man, it's hard to market because we are losing." Don't you believe we are going to start to have winning seasons? While winning will definitely draw a bigger percentage. Winning AND marketing will draw a BIGGER percentage. Like CK wrote, the Ianello Pigskin Holocaust™ has ruined any momentum that was putting butts in the seats. We need many ways to start the excitement that will be Akron football. I'll start by hiring Zips Win! for Game Day Tailgate Manager. The pay is little, but you have to start somewhere buddy. I'll have an official badge for you in August.