GP1

I don't know if it took too long to replace Ringer because his faults were not fully realized until after the MTSU game. I think what really did Ringer in were the fumbles against MTSU. Turnovers will lose a game faster than anything and especally when you fumble near the other team's end zone. Not only that, Biggs completely out performed Ringer when he had the chance to play. I think he won MAC Offensive Player of the Week two or three times last year. That my friends is a difference maker. I know there is a lot of paranoia everytime I mention Frye's name, so let me clarify my comments above. I think Frye had a VERY good season last year (though he had a much better one his junior year). As good as he played, the team still needed some spark to get them winning. That spark was Biggs. Biggs provided consistency (runs hard every play) and dependability (doesn't fumble) to the running attack. JD wants to run the ball, and when we ran more and passed less the team won games. I love to win!

There are way too many good comments to quote, so I'll just jump in again. I don't know what the seniors did or did not do last year after a bad start, but if they provided leadership to the remainder of the team, that is what seniors are supposed to do. My only question would be, what took so long? Maybe they were sick of years of losing and pouting about a new staff. I really don't know. I would guess that getting passed Virginia, NIU and PSU helped the outlook of the team and prospects for victory as well as leadership. Any spark to the team had to be the loss to MTSU. I can't imagine how sick they all felt after that game losing to an inferior team at the Rubber Bowl. Maybe beating Marshall was lucky. The bottom line is that the Zips were presented with opportunities to take advantage of and they did. That's the sign of a good team. The sign of a bad team is one that allows those opportunities to happen and we all see the condition of the Marshall program now. They are a mid level MAC program now going into a conference where those schools are going to want to kick their ass every week just to make a statement. I would say something bad about Owens here, but I've said enough bad things about him in my life that I'm sure the good Lord will need me to answer a few questions about them before he makes his decision. With my luck, God will look like Terry Pluto. No wonder Pluto thinks he is God. If Getsy is a gamer, the only way to find out is during a real game. Within a month we will all know. My biggest concern is his not playing in a game for a few years now. I'm not willing to make any changes right now though. If we are getting our asses kicked at Purdue at halftime in a couple of weeks, I would let Ferguson play some in the second half regardless of how Getsy plays. I think that would be a prudent thing to do. Thanks for everyone for elevating this board today.

This was an excellent post and I would like to just comment on a couple of things. First, I think JD has the personality to pull the plug on any player who is not performing. Most college coaches know the importance winning and playing the best players. I am sure JD understands this as he not only has coached in college for eight years, but in the NFL for two. When it comes right down to it, these coaches are a bunch of pricks who will do anything to save their @$$e$. I don't think JD has had a free pass at all. I remember last year on this site after the first two or three games people were calling for his head. Also, the Beacon Journal has done nothing since he received the job but mention Saint Lee Owens in every article they write about him and how it was Owens' players who are carrying the load for him. He certainly has not had a free pass. Let's all take a trip back to last year again. What made the team turn their season around last year was the benching of Ringer and the starting of Biggs after a horrible start to the season. It had nothing to do with the QB play. Just to satisfy Zips Win! I will say this, Frye obviously played very good last year. Saying that though his play was not the key to turning around the season. The point being, it was the guts JD had to bench an underperforming player and take a chance with one of his own guys. Maybe he is taking a chance with one of "his guys" this year, but the first chance he took with one worked out very well. If I see Ringer on anything this season other than kickoff team, I will . Guys, Z-Pouch has written the type of post that we should all be posting. There is nothing wrong with a little smack on this board...either serious or kidding. It is the stuff that make boards fun and popular.

It's not just the site.

Agree

Let's be clear. The time to discuss this matter will be NEVER. The MAC is a good conference with good competition. Away games are typically a day trip for fans. It's perfect. This is where we belong.

Amen!

I guess a King trumps a Capt. every time. About Cloud flunking out, I have some thoughts on this. I graduated from U of A with a Bachelors and Masters Degree. While I believe UA is a great school and I am proud to have graduated from there twice, it certainly was not Harvard. During my graduate work, I was one of the few English speaking teaching assistants and a kid had to sit down at the beginning of the term and map out a plan for how they were going to flunk my class. Are these guys really that stupid or are they just lazy.........or both? There are plenty of 100 and 200 level classes that could keep even the most stupid student from flunking out.

Purdue has a relatively easy schedule this year and going 11-0 may not be that far out of the question. They travel to Arizona the week after us. AZ hasn't been good for some time. They have Notre Dame at home. They have played well against ND in recent years and playing them at home gives them quite an advantage. The only difficulty may be later in the season when they go to Wisc. and PSU back to back weeks. Other than that, their schedule is real easy. OSU and Michigan are two teams picked to not only win the Big Ten, but also to compete for the national championship. Purdue doesn't play either.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/spor...es/12422794.htm Here is an interesting article.

I told everyone last year that the Platinum Horse was a good place to "tail"gate before and after games.

Two for one lap dances at the Platinum Horse.

I can see my topic is going no where. My as well break from the topic and add: You can never have too many good STRIPPERS at the Platinum Horse.

You can never have too many good______________. Fill in the blank with a specific position and not a group (ie: offensive linemen). I would say for this team the answer would be tail backs.

If you insist..... Owens was a high school coach who surrounded himself with mostly high school coaches. If he was any good, he wouldn't be at Ashland now. Think about our past two coaches. Faust was put out of coaching after Akron and Owens is at Ashland. 18 years of...... ..........sorry guys, I just couldn't hold it back any longer. Getting back to Blackburn....... After watching the game Saturday night, I have to admit that Blackburn did look really good. Much better than I thought he would. Still a long way to go though, but a positive sign is that the team ran that article on their web page. There is usually more than meets the eye with team web pages. I say it's better than even money now that he makes the team.

Hummmmmmmmmmm........interesting.

Thanks for a good report. This coaching staff has it all going on. They are smart, young and hungry. I'm sure they are not making friends with the players, but who cares as long as they win.

I have a whitish background on this page now. Am I the only one that has it? It is very difficult to read white lettering over it.

The older you get, the more similar they become.

If anyone out there can find a year by year breakdown, please do so. Also, if there are comparisons to other players drafted around when Frye did it would be interesting to know their bonus. I actually though Frye would have received more signing bonus money. Maybe $1 million minimum. The money is more valuable to him now than it will be in three or four years because he could be earning interest on that extra money. I really do think he should have held out for more bonus money.

That's one of the better articles I have ever read explaining contracts in the NFL. Nice work. Question: Where are you keeping these old articles?

I find NFL salaries fascinating. I don't think the length of Frye's contract is as important as up front bonus money for signing. Players financial security is dependant upon guaranteed money up front and the salary is something that can go away if a player is cut prior to completion of the contract. Base upon what we read in the papers, it does not appear to be the case that the Browns are planning on playing Frye this season with the pick up of Johnson. Frye may not have the opportunity to pick up on field bonuses like Roethlisberger did with the Steelers. If Dilfer plays well and/or doesn't get killed, Johnson will not make much either. Roth... had a salary of around $650,000 last season but earned around $1.7 million with on field bonuses. Frye should go for signing bonus money. If he has to hold out, then hold out. This is a business after all and what can he really lose by holding out? GO FOR THE MONEY! The up front bonus money also puts Frye in a win/win situation. If he does well with the Browns, they can renegotiate his contract after a couple of years and he will get more in salary after getting rich with signing bonuses. He'll also get more signing bonus money in a renegotiation. If things don't work out for him, he has gotten rich through his signing bonus. Then he gets to try his luck with another team that will pay him another signing bonus.

How much is signing bonus and how much is salary? Or is that salary only? Maybe it was in the articles, but I read them pretty fast.

I don't think coaching lost the game for OU last year. Akron had better players and they out played OU late in the game and scored a TD that put the game out of reach. While Akron did not have a great deal of talent last year, they certainly had more than OU and they were on a roll when they played. If OU fans think they should have won the last two seasons, I'd like to get some of that pot they are smoking down there.

I just saw the AP preseason poll in the Beacon this morning. I laughed out loud when I saw the sports writers picked OU to finish in front of Akron and Can't . Maybe the writers did not get to see OU play last year, but they were one of the worst D1 teams I have ever seen and I am sure it will take years to rebuild that program. Maybe they think Frank Solich is magic, but I think not. Just as a Nebraska fan. Here's to the media's continued ignorance. By the way, Can't could not beat Akron at Can't last year. They certainly will not beat us this year at the "historic" Rubber Bowl. Akron wins their last two games of the season, finishes in third place and gives us all something to really look forward to in 2006.