Ham

I'm with you. Does New Belgium Brewery from Ft. Collins, CO, make its way east to you? They make several american style brews including Fat Tire, but you might enjoy their Abbey. I haven't tried any of their offerings that disapointed me. Maybe Belgo a little. Its labeled as a Belgium style IPA. The Belgium yeast did not come through for me; however it is a real nice IPA, and I like IPA's.

One can learn things about a team watching a TV broadcast, but like the Dr said, you see what the producer wants to show. In person, one can better see the play develope. This still isn't the best; because one canot rewind to see something more clearly; or go back to see how someone was lined up or their persute. I think a teams attitude or demenor is better assessed in person. For instance, did the Zips quit on I...in charge(coach doesn't work here). I might have played a long time ago, but this is still a game of blocking and tackling. For example, our 3/4 D from a few years ago really wasn't much different from the way we played a 6/2. Shot gun? Single wing. The bottom line on this question remains to be answered. Until we start blocking and tackling someone else, one can only guess. My guess is that we will win at least 4 or 5 games this year.

I find it impossible to really evaluate a team wathching them on TV or web; so my take derives from one game I saw in person. Special teams were genrally hap hazard. I was very pleased to learn today that JB has lead a complete assult to bring special teams up to respectable performancen levels. Our secondary could not cover anyone at the line of scrimage, and they often seemed confused resulting in blown coverage. That seems to be solved. Pass rush? Coaching improved tecnique could milk available talent. Size? Give me quickness. especially in the MAC! Our new offense will require less time to get an effective throw off. If our QB can deliver the ball with reasonable cosistancy, the improved passing game will open up the run. I'm certain that play calling and game management will be a huge step forward this year. Retuning talent for this year is certainly thin, but we have brought in some people to fill some of those holes. Depth? I don't think any MAC coach would ever be happy or even comfortable there. I will be surprized if we don't win 4 or 5 games this year. Does anyone really believe that TB is telling his guys that all they need to do is win a couple games this year to have a successful season! Do you think he will give the team a pass for any loses that might occur as just part of the process? If I were TB, I would be "poor mouthing" in public too. I'm confident that he will have his guys waiting in the weeds ready to ambuse some people!

If you were a fan, would you be able to ask the tough questions? We can get the PR stuff from Gozips. You are obviously putting out the effort to get us the facts. When we start hitting someone besides ourselves, your objective view will be much anticipated.

Positive.

I think you are close to the truth. UCF is not that far removed from the MAC, and I think they will be looking past us. Coaching will make a hugh differance in this years Zips. One area that I have not seen much comment on is special teams. We need to cover kicks much better. Coupling that with an offense that will at least give the D a chance to get a drink will make a big improvement. I think the Zips will do better than cover the spread. Zips 24 UCF 20

In a couple weeks, we will see against UCF that Fox has at 25 in their preseason rankings.

Better position? Who do we have on our schedule that will fill the stadium? From a square head Iowa Zip to Hillbilly Zip.

I would also like to know how Cody Grice is doing?

Percentages don't tell us much. One needs to also factor in how many new season tickets were sold last year. Actual number of tickets sold would tell a more acurate story. I can only get to one game a year coming from Iowa. Yesterday, I was able to get 2 seats on the 50 yard line for the Miami game, but there were only 6 more seats in the en tire section 110. The MAC presents an exciting product. The talent might be a bit short of the Big Ten or SEC, but the competitive ballance produces excitment. If we move into the competitive mix, I think the fans will come. What would you rather watch? a 65 to 64 nail biter or OSU 65 IU 3?

We may need an up grade in talent, but this is the MAC for goodness sake. I will be surprised if we don't get 5 wins! First, I don't think the D was that bad. They need to find a pass rush and someone to cover at the line of scrimage. Early signs are good. The last 2 years the D was put in position to fail with repeated turnovers and 3 & outs by the O. Our new scheme will help the O. We were so predictable that 12 year old kids in the stands knew what we were about to run. That same 12 year old could have matched their passing accuracy! We don't need a stud at QB; just someone that gives the recievers a chance. The new scheme will give our line a better chance for success not being required to hold their blocks as long to give our QB the time he needs. We should have all known what we were in for last year when Mt Union kicked our butts in preseason 7 on 7. I think I'm kind in saying that our entire former staff was clueless! The people in the best position to see that were on the field, and I think they checked out by mid season. From the player interviews that I have seen so far this season, I think our new staff has begun to change the culture. Just look back to remember what Miami did "in recent hisrtory." This is the MAC. Coaching makes a difference in the "cradle of coaching"!

That is absolutely great news for me. My daughter is an ISU grad, but even better, I'm only 30 miles from Ames. I had a lot of fun at Iowa City a few years ago even though the Hawks blew us out in the first half. Charlie Fry took a cheap shot at the end of the first half that kept him out the second half. Ames will be a great road trip for everyone. Great game day experience. Next on my wish list is Northwestern Wildcats, my sons alma mater. We seem to run into the Cats in other sports a lot. Game day experience at Evanston is not so good, but I could score 50 yard line seats with my son.

Central has hired Keno Davis. He should really perk up the Chips.

NU doesn't have the beef to push Zeke around. He will get his points, but I think he will will be a force on D!

I`ve been to Evanston to see them play one game a year the last several years (My son is a NU grad and season ticket holder for FB & BB}. I watched them take the Buckeyes down to the wire last year and another close loss to Purdue this year. They will drive you crazy with back door lay ups. They seem to get their opponants to play down to their level. Sullenger particularly amazed me last year. He had a couple of bursts where he showed himself, but he seemed to coast through most of the game. Although I have not seen the Zips in person, I think we have the athleticism to take it to NU offensivly. We just can`t let them lull us to sleep. Defensivly, we just need to play 35 seconds every time down the court. They have a lot of guys who can handle the ball, but we have the guys to keep up with them. Our bench will help us keep fresh legs in the game. Zeke could have a monster night. I don't think they will have an answer for him on D, and he could control the paint on D as well covering up some of those back door cuts. I predict that NU scores 55. If we "show up" for the game and play 40 min., Zips score 80. If we allow NU to lull us to sleep, Zips 50.

He knows Shaka too?

That sounds like the Lone Star frat boys. Maybe they changed their name to protecrt the inocent.

I don't remember Nippy's Nook. I do remember Demareno's that was right across the street from the Info on Exchange.

You guys are pups! I remember fall camp at Buchtel field where we slept on cots in the garage and storage rooms the first 2 weeks of Sept. for 2 a days before classes started. Dorms? Yeah, we had one back then.

Speed and quickness is a real asset at DE too. We have a plethera of QB's; where will some of them end up? Iowa has recruited many QB's that ended up playing differant positions. One all Big Ten pro DE comes to mind.

How will coaching make a difference? Eliminate stupid coaching mistakes like kicking off to start both halves, going for 2 pt conversions when 1 is clearly called for. Offensive play calling was not only stupid but also predictable. How many times did you say "Don't run that play", only to see them do just that and get stuffed? So many 3 and outs put the defense in bad field position. A little coaching creativity with game planning, play calling, and individual player utilization will make a world of difference! Bad field position aside, the defense lacked preperation. How many TD's did we give up where the DB was no where to be found. I blame that on coaching. Lack of a pass rush? Creative coaching could have played "games" with the front 4 and LB's more. Kick coverage? Did we always have the right people in there? I wouldn't utilize my star LB or starting FB, but the right mix of speed and grit needs to be in there. Coach B took a demoralize Auburn team with nothing to play for except pride, and brought them together to win 20 in a row! We have a group of young men who I'm betting are pumped to have a new beginning. Look for our new staff to bring out the best in them. That could be enough for 6 or 7 wins , but I'll be happy with 4 or 5 in '12.

I seem to remember that Grice has been bulking up. I don't think he will fit our runnng back needs; however he may be just the ticket to fill a LB need. I do think we will see some people at new positions in the spring, and I expect that we will also be pleasantly surprised at the talent that we have. We will be a bit thin, but the half dozen early enrollees will help.

Those ref's should be shot!

We are straying a bit, but I wonder what could be done to get people out to the spring game? We could sell some fall tickets, and get some exposure to some prospects and their coaches.

What about our big red shirt Cody Grice. Both of them could make a difference at LB.