Fox Sports projection for 2005 Zips

[UA Fan]

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3336522

[KentZip]

Ranked below Cant State!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Akron Hooper]

Two comments...

Antwan Smith transferred from Can't State - this is a big hit. However the JUCO QB they picked up forced Smith's hand and the JUCO is better than any other QB coming to the MAC East.

Can't State has their entire defense back and a great JUCO QB. Akron loses Frye, the major players from last year's defense , and all of the offensive front.

Akron will be lucky to win 5 games this season. 2006 should be the year that the Zips contend for a title.

[GP1]

Pre season polls mean nothing. I look for Akron to have a good season next year.

Don't worry too much about what has left, every four years the players change anyhow. Certainly losing seniors is always a concern. As far as the o line, I think we could be just as good next year. Could it be any worse?

The defense should be better next year also. If they are slightly better, that will give the offense more chances to score and better field position than what they have had in recent years. That plays in our favor.

Next year, we have a QB starting who could have been the starting QB for a BCS school if his dad was one of the most powerful high school coaches in western PA the way Tyler Palko's dad is. There are many people who think Luke was a narrowly better QB than Palko. Luke will also have three fall practices and three spring practices in the offense.

Think positive Zips fans. We have Can't, OU, Army at home. Buffalo and MTSU on the road. Miami will be down and throw in a win against a directional Michigan. Using the skills I used in my MUM class at U of A, that adds up to seven wins. Another win somewhere else, and we have eight wins.

[Guest OL Watcher]

I hate to point this out but yes, the OL could get worse. The guys from this season were bad and were never pushed by any of the backups... ever. Games are won on the front and if this bunch is as bad as they haved played to date then Getsy may not last half the game at Purdue.

[GP1]

Good post OL Watcher. Let's hope that additional work in spring practice will lead to the players development. Maybe they can bring some JUCO offensive linemen this off season to help the line.

I still remain optomistic though.

[Dr Z]

This article has no merit. Miss LeFall?

I would guess the team will be better just because the system is now in place.

At the beginning of the year I heard players saying they didn't like it and they

had no idea what they were doing at practice and why. At the end of the year,

the same players loved it. So we won't have any system adjustment time.

I will miss Charlie and Chase though. Good luck at the next level.

[Guest OLDSCHOOLZIP]

I will miss Charlie and Chase though. Good luck at the next level.

I highly doubt Chase Blackburn will make it in the CFL, much less the NFL. Forget the hype, just watching him play this season, he's not a very good linebacker. He's stiff, can't change direction, doesn't hit, and misses ALOT of tackles. A lot of the long runs we gave up this season, the finger can be pointed directly at him. He's overrated and if he makes it into a camp will get cut by the first preseason game. He won't be missed in our LB core this year, in fact it might be better in his absence.

Charlie Frye has great potential at the next level, but may need to sit behind a great QB for a few years and learn the ropes, ala Steve Young.

[Dr Z]

I highly doubt Chase Blackburn will make it in the CFL, much less the NFL.  Forget the hype, just watching him play this season, he's not a very good linebacker.  He's stiff, can't change direction, doesn't hit, and misses ALOT of tackles.  A lot of the long runs we gave up this season, the finger can be pointed directly at him.  He's overrated and if he makes it into a camp will get cut by the first preseason game.  He won't be missed in our LB core this year, in fact it might be better in his absence.

Wow tell us how you really feel about Chase.

I'll come to his defense, so to speak, he was asked to play a different position this year.

He was playing down on the line and standing up. I agree he didn't have the year I expected,

but I still think potential is there. If he gets to the combine, I bet he impresses. Everbody knows

the combine has too much emphasis, so he might surprise a few scouts there. Wouldn't surprise

me to see him in somebody's camp this year. I always thought he would fit in a 3-4 scheme better.

As far as Canada, I would have zero opinion on that, since nobody actually watches canadian football.

[GP1]

Blackburn does have one chance at the NFL that nobody writes about. He was the long snapper on the team. Although it is a long shot, he could make it in this position if he gets with a team that needs one. If he does, he could be in the NFL for longer than any Zip ever. Most long snappers play over 15 years.

[Guest OLDSCHOOLZIP]

I highly doubt Chase Blackburn will make it in the CFL, much less the NFL.  Forget the hype, just watching him play this season, he's not a very good linebacker.  He's stiff, can't change direction, doesn't hit, and misses ALOT of tackles.  A lot of the long runs we gave up this season, the finger can be pointed directly at him.  He's overrated and if he makes it into a camp will get cut by the first preseason game.  He won't be missed in our LB core this year, in fact it might be better in his absence.

Wow tell us how you really feel about Chase.

I'll come to his defense, so to speak, he was asked to play a different position this year.

He was playing down on the line and standing up. I agree he didn't have the year I expected,

but I still think potential is there. If he gets to the combine, I bet he impresses. Everbody knows

the combine has too much emphasis, so he might surprise a few scouts there. Wouldn't surprise

me to see him in somebody's camp this year. I always thought he would fit in a 3-4 scheme better.

As far as Canada, I would have zero opinion on that, since nobody actually watches canadian football.

Maybe that was a little harsh on Chase but I think it's the truth. The guy's a weightroom freak who did next to nothing on the field last year. As for a position change, a lot of people think he was a D end last year because that's what the roster said but he really wasn't. In the 3-3-5 scheme brought in by the new coaching staff, Chase played a position which I've heard called the "bandit" in other systems (not sure what the Zips coaches call it) where you're an outside linebacker in our base "3-3" look and only occasionally line up on the line when the defense is switched to a 4 man front and one of the safeties is walked down to outside backer (that was John Fuller this season). So basically, if you paid close attention to our games, Chase spent most of the year standing up at the outside backer spot he'd played for the past 3 seasons, and only occasionally put his hand down (which, if you remember, he did play D-end for us his true freshman season). So I don't think you can blame much on the position change. He's just not a very good linebacker. As for long snapping, I've never seen him do it, but I guess that could be a very good fit for him in the league if he can do it well because one thing he does have going for him is size and speed, and if you look at some of the fat garbage snapping right now in the league Chase would be a nice pickup if he's a consistent snapper.