johnnyzip84

One would think TB and staff would make a run at him, now that he is available.

The vast majority of Lot 9’ers were fully expecting this outcome. Somehow I convinced myself that the odds-makers must have known something counter to this in making the Zips a solid favorite. Obviously, I was completely wrong. I suspect someone must have leaked the fact that Travis Greene wouldn’t be playing and perhaps that affected the line. As pointed out by several already, it made no difference as the 2 backups has no troubles at all getting their yards. This highlights the biggest problem UA has faced in this downer of a stretch – we’re getting handled up front on both sides of the ball. If you can’t run the ball (I know some people think it’s because we’ve abandoned it – I disagree) and you can’t stop the run, well we all know the end result. Throw in the turnovers and that enough to pry the wheels off the vehicle. Several key guys are playing with significant injuries, and it’s a shame we apparently don’t have enough quality in reserve to do much about this in 2014. I do commend them for their effort. I must make it clear that I think TB has chosen a prudent path in adding numerous transfers to the roster to compliment the HS recruits as he tries to turn things around here in these 1st couple of years. He is playing to his (and the staff’s) strength in taking advantage of all the connections they have throughout the Power 5 ranks. Having established that, others in the past have postulated that transfers, because they have do not have as much time and energy invested in the program, can be the 1st players to put forth less than 100% effort (I believe Vince Lombardi had a quote along these lines). Although it’s a generalization, I think there is certainly some truth to this. Another pitfall with Power 5 transfers is that sometimes they can convince themselves things like “if we just whipped Pitt, these MAC teams shouldn’t be much of a challenge”. Hopefully a three-game helping of humble pie might help them get ready to go against the Bulls. Speaking of U@B, I’ve said all year that they don’t impress me in the least. Unless you’re NIU, a MAC team doesn’t lose talent like Mack, Oliver, and Neutz without having a significant drop-off the following year. There was a slight concern that having fired the only D1-A/FBS head coach to EVER lose to a team coached by Robert Stephen Ianello that somehow the Bulls might find a spark down the stretch. OU doused that suspicion in a hurry. After the 4-2 start, losing the last three games was definitely tough. But a loss to this version of the Bulls might rank as the worst loss in the Bowden era. The key to avoiding this from happening is simple IMHO. The prime job of the staff this week is to motivate.

K92 - as a good friend of mine once said, it's so much more fun to prepare food for an appreciative crowd! Please add the following Quebec brews to the list: Unibroue La Fin du Monde Unibroue Don de Dieu (paired well with the poutine)

I wish I could say I was completely unconcerned about the defense, but both QB James Knapke and RB Travis Greene are definitely capable of doing damage. Knapke seems to be dinged a little and I think the Zips will be able to get pressure on him. I’m a little more concerned about Greene at this point, because he had over 200 combined yards against UA last year and the Zips had some trouble stopping Ball State’s RB Edwards last game. On the other hand, BGSU’s defense has not been very good. If the Zips limit the turnovers, I see a few more big plays than we’ve been accustomed to lately. Zips 31 Falcons 27

There were certainly a lot of one-timers for the Motor City Bowl that year - perhaps 25,000 to 30,000 (total attendance 50K)? But there were FAR less Zip fans at the MAC Championship game. The total announced attendance for that game was about 12K, with perhaps 7-8 thousand (my estimate) coming from Akron.

Thanks for the heads up, Dr Z I should have considered the hourly forecast and how late that game begins. Oh well, my black rain gear might have to be the old standby: I’m in agreement with you on the Corso comment. I know Knapke hurt his ribs recently, but he’s listed as probable for the game on a few sites.

Zips are currently 5.5 point favorites. Weather forecast for tomorrow is mostly cloudy and a high of 62 with only a 20% chance of rain. While I dislike the mid-week games, I'll take these conditions any day given the circumstances! Looking forward to tomorrow. Go Zips!!!

Here is an older Toledo Blade article on BGSU's 16 day break. In discussing the WMU game, the Bronco pass rush, although not recording any sacks, was key to stopping Knapke (who I believe has proven my suspicion about Matt Johnson being a "system" QB) and the Falcon offense. It's time for the Zip pass rush to get its mojo back - let 'em loose, Coach Amato.

Below is a link that provides some low-level discussion of the physics involved in sports injuries, without getting too deep into the details. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC155415/ I think many of GP1’s proposed structural changes clearly address many of the items discussed in the paper. I’ve always viewed the possibility of reducing the local deceleration experienced by the brain during football collisions (impact loading) as offering the most benefit going forward. As stated in the paper, the cushioning INSIDE of the helmet there for this purpose. It’s also the season why we see energy absorbing devices every day in automobile (collapsible steering column, etc.) and highway design (collapsible barriers). Clearly this current approach, focusing mostly on energy absorption on the INSIDE of the helmet, does not reduce the decelerations enough to prevent frequent concussions. This is why I have wondered if we’d ever see an attempt to take the current helmet technology and introduce external (OUTSIDE of the helmet) energy absorbing devices to possibly reduce brain decelerations. I envision something as simple as relatively stiff foam surrounding the current helmet. Taking this to an extreme, if players had 10 inches of such foam surrounding their existing helmets, I believe the maximum decelerations experienced by the brain could be greatly reduced. Of course, this would present a bit of a spectacle and probably turn the game into something other than what we know as football. But perhaps there is a happy medium where decelerations could be reduced in this manner (external energy absorption) without changing the game too drastically. The whole helmet style trend would have to take a back seat in this approach, I’m afraid. I think I should patent this. It’s even possible that a retrofit of all of those existing helmets out there might prove to be quite lucrative.

Good luck, Melo! I always appreciated your effort.

I was hoping that by putting this in a separate thread, the BG thread could be left to discussions about the game. Thanks for posting the additional links that define the NCAA standard. This will likely be fluid over the foreseeable future. I know we've had other threads dedicated to the future of the game and I've voiced my opinion there that DRASTIC changes to equipment, especially the helmet, might be necessary for the game to survive. These will be expensive measures, but the up front cost will probably pale in comparison to the settlements that will need to be paid for incidents that have occurred over the last 10 years or so.

Timely article from CNN

I will add that we shouldn’t forget that Coach Bowden happens to have a Law Degree. Don’t be shocked if, in a few years down the road, Shane Morris sues the University of Michigan AND Brady Hoke and others on his staff for their actions (or inactions) during the Minnesota game.

Or you could be missing out on a big run-up due to insufficient research from the street.

That was definitely my concern. It's pretty bizarre, but I don't think ANYONE on here has a real handle on this. The usual Tuesday presser must not be happening this week, so we might have to wait a while.

Thanks - I'm sure you can see how that makes a big difference within the context of the QB mystery discussion.

Thanks for the info, CK Keep the defibrillator handy.

Please clarify. Are you telling him to not tune into the Coach's Show or the game?

I’ve been pretty busy since I got back from Muncie, but here are a few observations after reading some of the most “shot-from-the-hip” commentary I’ve ever seen on ZNo: Ball State has quite a nice tailgating atmosphere. It was almost as if there were more people tailgating than those who eventually attended the game. Woodson’s 4 picks need no further attention in terms of their immediate and drastic impact on the 2nd half, but Amani Davis’s muffed punt was an incalculable momentum switch. Mizell had just leveled Edwards (it was even more impressive in person) causing the Zip sideline to erupt with much needed hope. All that hope was gone in less than 60 seconds. Maybe it’s time to stick Drew Philips back for punts and kickoffs. He looks very comfortable in that role. I’m tired of holding my breath when the other team is punting. Of course 4 INTs will kill your chances of winning every time, but Tyler Williams and Andrew Pratt simply have to catch those deep balls. The one to Williams was underthrown due to the strong headwind, but he made the necessary adjustment (the hard part) but dropped the ball (the easier part) as he was falling to the turf. Pratt’s ball was laid right into his hands – in fact I didn’t realize he hadn’t caught it until he stood up without the ball. With Hundley having another fine outing and DJ Jones willing and able to spell him, maybe it’s time to move Chisholm to slot receiver for the remainder of the year. He has better hands than some of the guys playing there and his speed just might provide somewhat of a deep threat. You could certainly see Woodson’s confidence rapidly erode with each new misstep. I could be wrong, but it’s hard for me to imagine him shaking this off any time soon. It’s a shame because he played a really good 1st half. At the risk of being branded a loser or a Bowden apologist, I can’t help but frame the Zips current 4-4 (2-2) record against the backdrop of 30+ years of D1 gridiron frustration. People generally like to see improvement in a linear fashion. Unfortunately, that’s typically not the case. Improvement in areas such as athletics tends to follow more of a “stock market like” ascent, with the temporary setbacks being difficult to swallow. The mysterious QB situation is concerning and hopefully things will be cleared up very soon in this regard. Regardless, this team has everything left to play for in 2014. I’m more than willing to see how things transpire before concluding anything about this season or about this staff.

My thoughts and prayers are with coach's family and all those he touched during his exemplary career.

Zips 27 Cardinals 13

I have to admit "Team G" looked pretty good last night, especially their offense. Broadway looks to have them heading in the right direction once again.

Here is a Muncie Star-Press story on Cardinal RB Edwards.

Pugs is back in the NFL with the Chiefs practice squad.

That's a pretty fair assessment, Lee. The MAC East of 2005 and 2014 have two things in common: The team to beat is/was BG. The division is/was generally weak from top to bottom.Like you say, we'll see if TB and Company can take advantage of the opportunity. In related events, GT reports that despite KP16 taking reps with the 1st team (TW13 is also), TB likely won't name a starter (publicly) until just before the game