johnnyzip84

Ahhh, the suspense is killing me! Maybe JD has a few trick plays up his sleeves based on this alignment? Or are we simply paranoid about the big return (albeit for good reason)? I might be in the minority, but I actually think Stec has the potential to be a very good punter. Last year, as someone here pointed out, it seemed like he was positioned a few yards too close to the line of scrimmage. The block last week just looked like a breakdown in protection to me.

BZ, I was thinking that it might be 'equins or some intruding charlatan from Can't. Do you recognize him/her from the OSU board?

Of course it was very hard to sit in Browns Stadium and watch the punt being blocked with 38 seconds left, giving Army about the only chance it had of pulling out what could have been a sickening comeback. After listening to numerous fans calling out things like "that'sa pee-wee formation" etc., I thought it might be time to bring up our punting strategy. The "roll-out" Stec was doing on some of those punts is the so-called "rugby style" of punting that Louisville and others have been using, with mixed results, in recent years. I believe the idea is to give coverage teams more time and sometimes you can get the big roll. While I don't mind JD (now in charge of special teams) trying some new things (since last year we had so much trouble i this area) I'm not sure that I like the idea of switching back and forth (rugby-style vs. conventional). In fact, the only time that Stec was able to get off a conventional punt, he hit it very well and pinned Army deep. I say, let's scrap the rugby-style (except for certain conditions.....weather related or a "surprise") and focus on the fundamentals. The good news, as I see it, is that Stec's leg looks pretty lively to me. Any thoughts, ZipsNation?

Here's another chance to keep up the positive feedback on any attempts by the Beacon to cover the Zips.LinkGo Zips!!!!! Squash the Buckeyes!!!

I agree, Bryan Williams looked sensational with the ball in his hands. I do like DK as well, however. I thought the 2 TB sets were pretty effective against Army. BTW, someone mentioned DK getting "dinged already" in a previous thread. Does anyone have any info on that?

No problem, Dr Z! I have a feeling it was pretty popular in the 60's to 70's, but I don't run across too may people who remember it. It is, no doubt, a classic.

Does anyone remember this off-color "chant" from the old days? It was taught to me by my RA in old Torrey Hall in 1979. I've cleaned it up a little for the board's sake.Drink beer! Drink beer! Drink beer G.D., drink beer!I won’t drink beer with any man, who won’t drink beer with an AKRON man.AKRON once. AKRON twice. Holy jumpin’ J.C.G.D., S.O.B, Gooooooooooo ZIPS!!!!

The bottom line is there is a professional manner in which to perform one's job and there is another, dare I say amateur, approach. It's pretty well known that Frenchy is a a graduate of OU, but does that prevent him from doing HIS part in helping to promote Zip athletics?

I agree with that. There is no question how much he means to that team. Since he carries the ball a lot and plays with that sort of "wreckless abandon", it just might happen. But I don't want to count on it, because I really want to be able to scream on Sept 22 that

With this result and Miami's last minute win over Ball St. (there goes my "Ball St. wins the West" prediction...lol.....well, it's still early in the season, I suppose), the MAC East is looking like it might be a tougher nut to crack than some prognosticators (including me) have predicted. The Zips are going to NEED to play with intensity and desire this entire season. I will say that Martin has brought that to the Flushes.....their intensity, beginning with last season, is night and day from what it used to be. I think we can expect Ohio, Miami, K.E.N.T., and BG (we'll see about Temple and Buffalo) to all play that way, so there is only one way to deal with it.....MATCH it or EXCEED it. Let's hope we all see this fire in the Zips this seaon, beginning tomorrow. GO ZIPS!!!!

Maybe the Army TE is getting confused with West Point's storied "lonely end" formation Bill Carpenter

I'll go ahead and comment on the West poll. I think Ball St. will rise up and win it this year. Davis is a bigger, more polished version of his brother at QB and their defense is pretty good too. It should be a real battlem though, with the West looking to be considerably stronger than the East.

Thank you guys! :rock:Wow, two things jumped out at me on defense.1st, Nate can't even win the starting job at NT for what may be his last shot at impressing NFL scouts. I hope this is due to Pendleton playing extremely well. Or perhaps JD is trying one last "kick in the pants" to get him jump-started? Does anyone know if Nate is near 100% healthy? 2nd, I'm a little surprised that Chevin Pace beat out Brandon Anderson for the SS spot. We sure do have nice depth at LB and the secondary.

Zips 31Knights 30

As zipboy said on a previous thread As far as I'm concerned, the play of big Nate might be one of the biggest question marks, and potentially the most important in terms of how far this team will go, for the 2007 season. It is, indeed, interesting that very little news seems to be coming with regards to his progress. Maybe I'm wishful thinking, but perhaps Nate has seen this as his last shot at REALLY showing everyone (including the NFL scouts) that he is willing to do whatever it takes to turn all of that potential into substance. Let's hope so. This defense would be unreal if this were to occur, IMHO.

I've said it before. I'll be more than happy if the Zips simply win this game. We've never beaten them, and have never really even given them a decent game, so for anyone to expect a Zip win via blowout is beyond me. You know the Knights will be well disciplined. I expect the Zips to have bigger and better athletes, but that isn't always enough. I expect a narrow Zip win, 31-30.

I say if we could pair the 2001 offense and special teams with this year's defense, we'd have a team that would be very competitive. In spite of this, I think the program has improved overall, and defense is the place where you need to focus to have the type of program that sustains itself and develops some consistency.BTW, I'm pretty sure this is the "pre-injury" Brandon Payne, a player who I thought was really quite talented and productive.

Shhhh!!!!!!

Here are a few others to consider on the OL. Steve Hale and Kevin Kuntz. Hale moved pretty well for a very large guy, and Kuntz may have been as strong as any Zip linemen ever. Chris Kelley (already mentioned) is probably the best TE, but I always felt that Chuck Webb was underated.

I'd like to see some home and homes with schools from the WAC. Boise and Fresno might be tough to get, but Nevada, Hawaii (as g-mann17 mentioned), San Jose St. would all be nice opponents. I like the idea of getting the "brainy"/private schools from the BCS confererences too, such as Vandy and Northwestern. It might take a 2 for 1, but I've always wanted the Zips to host Pitt, since I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and took a lot of garbage from college fans in that region. My how times seem to have changed.....it's Akron with the soon-to-be on-campus stadium, while the Panthers have to trod across town for their games!!! Go Zips!!!

That was one of the most athletic FB plays I have ever seen in person! The amount of space Dwight made up on that (thanks to the shear length of the pass) was unreal!!

That was WAY too much fun!!! Thanks for the reminder. The thing that stood out to me was how the crown in the field affected the games.

Nice pickup ZG93. I remember he wore #5 on the field, and he truly was an awesome talent at LB. He dominated from sideline to sideline the short time that he played.There was a pretty good WR from that era as well by the name of Chapman. Gerry got his share of talent. His players on offense did not tend to put up huge numbers, though, because they seemd to use a fairly high number of players at the skill positions.

This is a very good first pass given that it's been drawn only from memory. Kudos!I thought the LB Clark had a different 1st name (Bryan?). Also, if you get kicked off the team for selling drugs (or some drug related involvment), should you be eligible for this? :DHow about Brad "Rasor" Reese at LB? Or Paul Winters at TB?

All this talk about Rodgers is very intriguing. It made me try to think of the last TRUE freshmen to start a game for the Zips at QB. Was Willie Spencer (Massillon) a true FR? Or do we have to go back to Brian Magrell (Green)?Back on subject, I think Rodgers would need to clearly beat out the other two, not only in the coaches mind's, but also in the bulk of the players mind's as well, in order for him to have a good chance at leading the team effectively.