johnnyzip84

While it's been tossed around ZNO for what seems like forever, the D-1/D-1AA debate remains a good one IMO. My first thought deals with GP1's initial question on how many fans showed up at the for UA's 1-AA playoff game. The only 1-AA playoff game in which the Zips participated was in 1985 AT Kingston, RI to face the Rhode Island Rams (Link). Therefore we have no historical data on 1-AA HOME attendance. Link Another point I'd like to make is that I think it's unwise to assume that just because we'd drop to FCS (1-AA) doesn't mean we'd compete for national championships or consistently make the playoffs for that matter. The way I look at it, winning an FCS title is probably more difficult than winning a MAC title. Would our season records be consistently better? Sure. Would that mean increased attendance? I'm not so sure, in fact I rather doubt it.

I don't know or care who delone carter is. Why I don't care is becasue I know who/what our DEFENSE IS. Believe me, this game will not be a pushover, but The ZIPS will certainly win. BTW, our OFFENSE is no slouch. Lots of talent on both sides of the ball. No Brag, Just Fact. I expect we win by 14 pts. I get that many doubt my sincerity and smirk at my braggadocio. And without any games yet played for the 2010 Zips, I can understand. But still, as I scour the talent of this year's team, I am only left with the conclusion that the bygone era of the Zips not being able to compete/win against mid-level BCS teams and not being the showcase football team of the MAC is OVER!! Let the season begin 2010 and the OrangeJuice flow. Classic!

While I certainly would like UA's chances better without him playing, there's also a part of me who didn't want to hear that his absence was the only reason the Zips were even in the game. Hopefully the revamped Zip D will be up to the challenge. BTW, Zipmeister is going to have a field day with this thread title

After all these years, putting Gerry to work.....I kind of like that! Besides, few would argue against the guy being a good talker. Dennison remains Walsh's only head coach during their 15 years of football (Link). Link

+1

I think it would be cool to have both GP1 and ITZ in the booth simultaneously, as sort of a "point, counterpoint" arrangement.

I'm wondering, at this late date, if they might end up bringing Joe Dunn back in the booth and sending someone brand new on the sidelines. Don't get me wrong, I like Joe Dunn and all but I am HOPING for someone with a little more radio presence next to Frenchy. They sure don't have a lot of time.

I'm disappointed to hear that, I thought Frank did a great job. Nice guy also, I remember speaking to him at the football golf outing his first year on the job. He was very concerned what Zips fans thought. He was asking our group a lot of questions and listening to the answers. I could tell right away he was concerned about his job and wanted to learn as much as possible about the team. I'm guessing he is moving up in his career. I couldn't find anything with a one minute google search. Good luck to him! On the 1st trip to Syracuse, Frank spent some time with me and my buddy at the Syracuse Suds Factory. He was energetic and entertaining and more than made up for the lousy beer at that place (almost no detectable difference between any of their mediocre, at best, offerings). I thought he did a nice job teaming with Frenchy as well. I can't imagine he was doing the Zips gig for the money.

Gaffney's latest on camp. Frank Stams will not be returning beside Frenchy in the broadcast booth. Apparently, the Zips are taking applications for the spot.

Yes this will be good, almost a Spring Game II. Anyone attending this scrimmage who attended the Spring Game, please give a progress update. I wonder if they will have any kid friendly stuff this year ala the Open House last year? My daughter had a blast in the inflatable obstacle course. I'll do that...i was at the spring football game...i will be going to this and will let people know what I think each position group has progressed since the spring game.... I'll do my best to provide the same, although I'll have to rely on memory for the Spring Game.

We can't say iCoach isn't reaching out to the fans on this one! I am really glad this opportunity is being presented. Way to go Rob!!! GoZips Link

Another report from camp. Monday was the 1st day in full pads. GoZips Link Maybe Marchese has the early lead in the PK derby? Also, with Broderick Alexander out for the year, wouldn't it be great if the Zips struck gold with the true FR RB Chisolm? No wonder the coaching staff was so eager to get this kid in here. I'm curious that we've heard no mention of Giorgio Bowers yet?

I don't think anyone here is too surprised by the news. Now Zip fans will get a great opportunity to witness two important things: 1) How much progress the defense has made in the 4-3 scheme 2) Whether DC Curt Mallory will stand by his stated claim to adjust the defense for the opposition. Nassib might end up getting the job done, but if Carter's playing I'm doing everything I can to make HIM (the QB) beat us. Hmmm.....I wonder if Delone has ever been Tonganated? Hmmmm again.....I wonder if Zip athletics should consider a promotion for the opener? Like, maybe the 1st 15,000 fans receive a snowball at the gates?

Come aGAIN? From what I hear, ICoach has bain looking for a big nasty guy. Might prove to be our man, or he may just turn out to be the bane of our DL. dreal, in the words of Carly Simon, you're so VAIN

Come aGAIN?

Agreed. Just having a little fun with it. Everyone wants tough, aggressive players, particularly on defense. If he's learned to reign it in just a little off the field, then I'm pretty glad he's playing his last season as a Zip!

He SPLITS the uprights!

For those of you familiar with his antics on ESPN's "Around the Horn", here is an article by Woody Paige that discusses the events of this past weekend in the Akron/Canton area. Denver Post Link

It looks like it's still not out of the question that Delone Carter could be on the field against the Zips on Sept 4. But if he's not, SU appears to be very thin at running back. Syracuse Blog

For those who have blogs blocked at work. Camp notebook – August 8 by MRASOR on AUGUST 8, 2010 in FOOTBALL Football I dropped by practice today and spoke with coach Rob Ianello. My notes follow… This was the fourth of 30 practices in August for the Zips. They won't be in full pads until tomorrow. I made a conclusion while watching. Here are the premises that led to it: 1) Patrick Nicely looks great. 2) Nicely is a pro-style pocket passer. 3) Matt Rodgers looked just OK in pocket passing situations, like you normally see when players don't wear pads. 4) Rodgers' greatest asset (his scrambling) is jeopardized by his serious knee injury. 5) Ianello runs a pro-style offense. … Now here is my conclusion: Nicely will have to really blow it this month not to be the starter. Nicely hit Jeremy LaFrance in stride on a beautiful post pass. By the end, LaFrance went for about 50 yards. Not surprisingly, Ianello is happy with LaFrance's work so far. The question will be, can a few other receivers step up to give Nicely other options. Ianello mentioned that Jalil Carter and Gary Pride also are part of his top three. "Carter is a better player than he was in the spring," the coach added. Anthony Meriwether will play, too, but he was set back by a hamstring injury in the spring. On the injury front, there is one important piece of news: Broderick Alexander is out for the year with a torn Achilles' tendon. He will redshirt. In the spring, he had a freak injury to his pectoral muscle while lifting weights. Having just recovered from that, Alexander tore the Achilles before camp began while running. He started the later games last season as a true freshman. Luckily for Akron, Alex Allen is churning at top capacity. Nate Burney, too, is earning praise from Ianello. Allen broke through the defense on two long runs while I was there. Burney and Larry Dawson also had carries deep into the secondary. Mike Ward (OL) and James Harvey (DL) both had their knees cleaned out recently. They should be back soon, though. Tight end Rhyne Ladrach looked good today. He caught two balls in traffic. The sophomore appears to have good hands. Akron hasn't had much tight end production since the Merce Poindexter/Kris Kasparek years. I was surprised to see that Will Fleming has been moved from linebacker to tight end. It was another tight end who was involved in the last (and most fascinating) play of the day. Jon Root, a freshman, found himself wide open. He caught the ball 20 yards from the line of scrimmage. He ran for 30 more yards until a cadre of defenders brought him down like a wildebeest on the African plains. Root coughed up the ball and the group of defenders aimlessly tried to scoop it up (rather than just falling on it, like TV analysts always preach). This gave freshman fullback Austin Bailey a chance to catch up to the pack. He snatched the ball and rumbled to the goal line before he was tripped up. Coach Ianello pointed to this play as an example of execution needing to tighten up. Today "wasn't as crisp as I had hoped for," he said. On the whole, Ianello has been "impressed" with team effort. He has liked the front seven on defense, as well as the running game. Three players who signed in February are not here. Zach D'Orazio (QB), Marvin Staten (RB), and Carl Washington (DB) will not enroll until January. The NCAA gives players five years to play four from the moment they enroll full-time in college. By not enrolling until January, these three players delay the clock from ticking. Four scholarship players will take their place. One is Antoine Russell, a true freshman receiver who signed late. I don't know much about him, except that he made it a mission to be the fastest in post-practice sprints. The second is Jawon Chisholm, a 6-foot running back from Harrisburg, Pa. Chisholm did not have any other scholarship offers. Like Russell, he signed later. The third is Marquelo Suel, a 6-3 juco wide receiver who signed this June. Suel, whom Scout.com calls "one of the more explosive juco wideouts in the country," has three years left to play two. The fourth is the most intriguing. Oren Wilson is a defensive tackle transfer from Michigan State. He started 12 games last season for the Spartans. He will have one year remaining after he sits out per transfer rules in 2010. He is transferring because of an incident before Michigan State's 2009 bowl game that landed him 21 days of jail time. This article suggests that Wilson wanted to return, but Spartans coach Mike Dantonio said otherwise. Last month, I got on Ianello's case for not connecting with fans. He took a great step in the right direction by starting a Twitter account that he updates quite frequently. Click here to view it. I plan to report from a few more practices in the coming weeks. In the mean time…

The following is from the GoZips.com summary. That's got to put a smile on the good doctor's face

Video wrap-up of the 3rd practice. Link

I would take Akron also. The Orangemen will be one of the worse teams in the country this year! No they won't. Syracuse will be a solid middle of the road BE team that probably gets back into a bowl game come December/January. Their new coach is doing good things up there, they had a solid recruiting class, have some JUCOs that are gonna help out, and have some talent returning. They'll be hurt Week 1 without Carter, but let's remember, we were one of the worst teams in the country last year, and we're going into our first game with two completely new systems on both sides of the ball. There will be miscues and indecision, take it to the bank. If I were a betting man, I'd take Syracuse with this spread. I see Orange 14+... but I hope I'm wrong. If what you say is true, I like Akron's chances even more. I think TWO completely new systems on BOTH sides of the ball will be too difficult to implement effectively early in the season. The major difference is this is the Orange's coach will be in his second year. There should be some level of stability with them. +1 Scouring the internet, you'd be hard-pressed to find a 'Cuse fan who wasn't encouraged by the way the Orange closed the season in Marrone's 1st year. I stick by my belief that the talent level of these clubs is pretty even (especially if Carter doesn't play). But unless RI has the Zips clicking straight out of the box, one would think the Orange would enter the game with more confidence and organization. If the Zip defense is as improved as I and others think it could be, they might keep the game closer than the 8.5 point spread. As far a pulling off the upset, I think for that to occur the component of the Zips that we haven't discussed much of late needs to improve dramatically from their 2009 form. I'm a big fan of Coach Vince Okruch. Hopefully, as Special Teams Coordinator, he can have these guys ready to be the difference in a few close games in 2010. Who will be the PK in 2010? Bronko? Igor? TJ Marchese? This may be the most intriguing position battle for me.

GoZips.com has some video of iCoach discussing the 2nd practice. Link Who is Clay Cameron? Edit: Never mind. He's the preferred walk-on we were discussing a few weeks back. Wow, back-to-back picks is the way to make your presence know quickly!! Clay's ZN Thread

He looks like a nice last-second pickup. I think it's a fair bet that if he hadn't had the trouble with qualifying on time, some of the other schools on these lists would have offered. Rivals Profile Scout Profile