Lee Adams

I am not going to repeat my previous post. I will say that this is the best,maybe the last best chance the Akron football program has to be successful at the current level. But,it will take at least 3 seasons to get competetive w/the best MAC teams. If by 2014 we don't see 5 wins and by 2015 we don't see north of .500,then as a famous actor said.'you got sum splainin to do'.

Why can't Akron win consistently in the MAC? First of all lets please stop fretting about what is going on at K.E.N.T. I actually saw a post on here where someone was hoping Hazell would leave there and go to a bigger program so they would get bad again. If thats what we are hanging our hats on to be competetive with them, wow! If we go back to the only period of time since Akron went to DI where the team was 'winning consistently' maybe we can see something. That period was '03(7-5),'04(6-5),'05(7-6).Spanned the careers of 2 coaches,Owens and Brookhart. Many of the players were recruited by Owens. Brookhart added a few key pieces. Owens got fired after a 7-5 season. Brookhart got fired after a 3-9 season in '09. That as we all know was the first year of Infocision. Expectations were way too high. Brookhart had a couple of 'near miss, seasons,'06 and '08. A'break' here or there maybe he is at least .500 The point? Those teams from '03 to '06 had some pretty good TALENT. Some guys are still playing in the NFL. Owens recruited pretty well. How did he do it? JD took some chances on guys who were very marginal students but had some talent. He recruited some guys who had personal issues. It cost him. Could he have gotten it turned around? Who knows. Front office changes probably assured changes would be made on the field. Coaches have to RECRUIT MAC/DI level talent consistently to create a steady stream into the program. I am convinced that at the MAC level you have to be a good recruiter first to convince kids to come. The 'build it and they will come' fantasy is just that at the MAC level. There are no better facilities in the MAC than at Akron. Is TB a good recruiter? With all respect,he seems like someone who could sell ice cubes to eskimos. So yep it looks like it. Is he a good game day coach? Seems like he has made some progress on the offensive side of the ball(I'm still not convinced about the D side). The front office needs to get out of his way at this point. Fans need to look for a slow build over the next 2-3 years. This is the best shot this program has had since '03. Will it work out? Lets stay tuned.

Unfortunately,I am not saying that you are wrong. I have wondered for years whether this program can sustain competetiveness at the DI level. Bowden may be the best shot before the administration must do a serious re-examination of the long term. This program will never attract a consistently large following,win or lose. Never has. We have already seen,not surprising to many of us,that even the novelty of a new facility wears off quickly. I spoke with a faculty member who is very close to the prgram. Right after they hired TB he said the biggest concern was that if the team didn't win some games early this season the 'Bowden glow' would wear off. Thats what happened. Can this program ever attract a sufficient number of solid recruits to establish a winning program? We will know in 2 years.

Last meaningless game of the season for Akron. Against a really athletic team possibly playing for the MAC west and/or a bowl game? COULD they win? Well it is 70 and sunny on 11-11-12 in Akron. Could get injured. Could have a really bad game and have to sit on that all winter. If TB was going to 'prepare' for next season he should have been working Pohl into games for the last month. Has nothing to do with what happened last year. But,when you make a coaching decision to start a senior QB at the front end of a long rebuilding program this is one of the consequences.

We all had a little higher expectation level even for this season. Maybe we got a little too caught up in the TB hoopla. At different times he has seemed to admit that the job is going to be a little tougher than he expected. I would never want to go back to the Faust era. If anything go back to '03,'04,05 that was fun. But,don't go back there anyway. You have to at least believe that Bowden will significantly improve the program.He has done it before. He is going to have to adjust his thinking a little however. This ain't Auburn and it ain't DII. However,it can turn into 'no man's land' if you let it. Lets take a look after the 2014 season and check the level of competitiveness. In the meantime try to hang on.

Seems like Groundhog Day. We could talk about Williams having a bad game and wondering why Bowden didn't go to the bullpen. We could talk about the coaching staff not having the team 'ready' to play. They were 'flat'. We could talk about how teams have been pretty much able able to control the Akron offense even though it may run up a lot of stats. We can sit upstairs and see the plays develop and see the missed opportunities. We can talk about the defense and its problems. It seems this team has been trying to run on fumes for about a month now. But, one thing we might all see is the talent level in the program except for a few exceptions is not at a competitive level even for the MAC(duh). There may be a couple more wins next season. But,with the players who are leaving and the lack of depth especially on defense after seeing yesterday, it just looks like its going to be at least 2-3 more seasons before this program is at a consistently competitive level. You have to have confidence in TB. He has done it before. But even he admitted that he was a little surprised at the difference in talent between the Zips and the better MAC programs. P.S. Coach Bowden,you said you are considering starting Pohl against Toledo. Please don't start him. Thats a very high risk limited reward situation for the team and the player. Maybe if you need a relief pitcher again but not as the starter.

Guess we keep chasin' dem points.

Regarding Williams,what a great story! He took the chance,came into a program that was going nowhere and got the ball rolling again on the offensive side. Yep,he is a 'system' QB. But he did what the team and TB needed him to do. Good for him. More 'one year and out' recruits. Hopefully not too many. There is no consistency in a program with that type of recruiting. You never know how those guys will perform and the staff is always trying to fill holes. If you have to go JC's or transfers who have at least 2 years left go for it. But,one year wonders need to be used when you are 'on the verge' and need 1 or 2 guys to fill a hole.

BG plays great D.

Well said. Ya its nice to MAYBE beat UMASS. They are still a glorified I-AA team. Start being competitive like the Toledo's,NIU's,OUs and the WMU's have been. TB has it moving in the right direction. Give him 2 more years.

If it hurts people to consider other ideas,thats an individual decision. Maybe you don't like the source. Who knows. What has been clear around here for years is that the teams except for 2 years w/RI have been able to score points pretty regularly. This year is a good example of that.One of the better producing O's in the MAC. Hell Williams is setting team records. Bowden Ball is fine on that side. But,the big dogs in the MAC can now play some defense as well as put points on the board. Its like TB has said on numerous occasions,'we were chasing points' because we got behind. The offense is now the strength of the team,duh. Get a couple of real playmakers in the middle of that defense(not just guys who have to make tackles because nobody else can),take one TD off the board for the opposition each game with this offense you have a .500+ team. See ya in 212 on Saturday!

The MAC may be changing a bit. Its been a basketball league for a while now. But, the teams that are solid this year have solid D's. NIU,BGSU,OU,K.S.U.,Toledo. Solich may have started that trend. More teams seem to be producing better defensive players than in the conference previously.

But,a nice win by Ball State over Toledo last night. Wenning threw 3 picks but he ran the ball 'effectively' and BSU ran right at Toledo with a big O-line. The lesson? Stay away from the Top 25 if you are in the MAC.

Read an article in the Plain Dealer couple of days ago. TB appeared to be saying that he was not expecting the level of talent in the MAC to be as good as it is. Hope this doesn't mean that this 'rebuilding' thing is going to take even longer than expected.

When you don't have the talent to do what you want to do you have to make adjustments offense and defense. The comparison to the Oklahoma State offense is a little misleading.(I mean it looks like Toledo also runs an offense similar to what TB likes.) They have enough talent and playmakers to be able run what they want to run and make it work at their level of competition. Akron apparently doesn't even have sufficient talent or playmakers to be successful consistently against the better teams in the MAC. The point about trying to find a more mobile QB is simply trying to make an adjustment that could help the team be more successful.

As we said previously the rhythm offense that TB likes works consistently when the D has to commit more than 4-5 to control the line of scrimmage. And,in the MAC unless you have a stud defense that can actually 'win' games and an overpowering run game,you have to have a QB who as GP stated before can 'run effectively'. He doesn't need to gain 100 yards/game. But if the LB's and safeties have to play a few steps closer to the line that means they can't keep the plays in front of them and the receivers may get some separation. Anyway,the weather is supposed to be decent on Saturday. Lets have fun finally at an Akron win.

Not 'calling out' anyone. Yep,the D doesn't have a lot of talent or by logic depth. It is basically doing now what it has done all year. Even when it was 'healthy'. Sometimes you have to adjust and adjust and adjust when you continue to get a bad result. Wouldn't say the D is 'overperforming' however. Actually the offense is pretty much doing the same as it has all season also. It is putting up points against just about everyone. Its just not necessarily doing it at critical times. Coaching? Maybe. These guys are a helluva' lot more fun to watch this year especially offensively. Unlike last season they have played their butts off all year. Hopefully,TB can load up on the defensive side in the off season and get some recruits whether they be JUCO's or transfers in who can play immediately next season. But I also think that a hard look needs to be taken in the offseason at the performance of the coaches. This team is going to need all the help it can get for the next couple of seasons.

Unfortunately, Can't pitched the shotout.

Sometimes when a head coach KNOWS he doesn't have the horses on either side of the ball, he starts trying to protect his team,HOPING they can get a break and somehow win. Good teams do what Can't did today. Akron looked good on the offensive side of the ball early in the season. They have never looked good on the D side. Yep, they need more defensive talent. But, unless the coaches can make adjustments on BOTH sides of the ball during games and week to week, we are going to get what we have been getting all year. Not convinced that all the problem on the D side is just lack talent.

Wow! But....unless the Zips D can pretty much pitch a shut out in the 2nd half.... If K.E.N T. had a bozo D I would say Akron could outscore them again. But you can imagine what is going on in the other locker room at 1/2 time. Maybe the Akron D will step up for once but...my money is not there. If Akron only had a defense one more TD might do it. But,TB obviously had them ready to play. Its fun to see this against that other team in Portage County.

What was the 'line' in 2006 when that team clubbed the Zips out there? Was at that game. Expectations were really high but the Zips under performed. That season should have been better.

First,wasn't in ANY way saying ANYTHING negative about TB! If nothing else he was able to make this team more 'watchable'. So we are to conclude that the talent on the Zips' roster is so inferior to the CONSISTENTLY GOOD MAC teams that it is going to take what,2,3,4 more years to get consistently competetive? It does appear that even though the program is probably 'off the radar'for many recruits he will be able to convince kids who might not come here to take a shot. Might need a heavy dose of JUCO's and transfers to kick start it.

Well,we just aren't good enough to compete with anybody in the MAC who has any modicum of talent at this point. If you listened to the broadcast on Saturday and to TB,it was about being able to handle press coverage on the outside and find receivers running through multiple layers of defenders. Call it what U want.

Yep. How does Hazell in 2 years take K.E.N.T. from an also ran to now the likely team to win the MAC East? Was there superior talent there the last couple of years? Or,did K.E.N.T. simply make a better decision on the HC they hired 2 years ago? They have definitely had better talent on the D side than Akron for a few years. If coaching really makes a difference we should start to see the results in 2013. This year...no. This K.E.N.T. team is probably better overall than the '05 Zips team that won the MAC. Until Akron can get some talent on the D side its not gonna matter who is on the sideline.

Its a good point. There has been no consistent 'winning' around here since the program went to D-I. There have been some individual players who have had a significant amount of talent. Amazingly, most of those guys were recruited under the Lee Owens regime. Dwight Smith,Jason Taylor,Dom Hixon,Chase Blackburn even Charley Frye. There were others. Point,since Faust came in and took the program to D-I there has never been a consistent connect between good recruiting and good coaching and consistent winning. Last time we had all that was when we were D-II. Do you then have to look at the administration? The guys who run the athletic department? But, we know basketball and soccer have generally been consistent winners with some down periods over the past 30 or so years. If TB doesn't compete for a MAC championship in 2 more years,then the administration needs to take a seriuos look at whether this program will ever be able to compete consistently In D-I and MAC in football.