Army Overview

[Captain Kangaroo]

1.) Beautiful day for a game. The endzone seats were in the shade...about 70 degrees and shady the entire game. Perfect.2.) Beautiful campus and tailgate area. After sifting through a bunch of misinformation from a local policeman the evening prior, I called the Army ticket office and got the lowdown on the best tailgate lot. It was a great place down in the valley alongside the Hudson. Absolutely perfect. The only downside to the area...like all West Point parking areas...was the fact you needed bussed to the stadium. There was no parking within a mile of the place. 3.) Met some great people in the tailgate lot. Met a few Zips fans after the game, but only one prior. He was living in New York, but attended UA about 10 years ago. Also ran into SoFlaZip in the 4th quarter. Always a treat!4.) I thought Jack had his second consecutive poor outing. His stats didn't look terrible, but he should have had double whatever he ended up with. 5.) Poindexter and Bruce do not appear to need flu shots this fall since they can't catch anything. I want to see more Al Owen next week!6.) Another good outing by the OL. 7.) We've returned to the * Set up* Pause* Look to the sidelines* Reset* Snap the ball I HATE that. And, it wasn't effective. 8.) I would like to see Matt Rogers get a series or two. I don't know if he's any good, but I do know our receivers and OL are. If he's at all capable, he should be able to move the ball.9.) Second week in a row Jack put the ball on the turf while scrambling. 10.) Four DL's for most of the game??!! Holy hell!! The results were mixed, but I am ecstatic to finally see some flexibility. 11.) Waller and Byrd got time at DB, and Waller made a nice break for his INT. 12.) Aaron Williams made a great TFL slicing through the Army OL during the second half. He looks like a playmaker. I want to see more of him.13.) Igor pouting since he was removed from kickoff duties? He seemed to right the ship, so hopefully it was just a hiccup.14.) Stec was bad yet again. I don't care what his average was...his punts were lousy. BTW - With a limited 65 person travel roster, why do we bring two kickers and two punters? 15.) We did miss Alex Allen in the red zone. He would have dominated Saturday. But Johnson and Kennedy should be good enough. Tuzze reeled off some good chunks of yardage late in the game too.16.) We need to score 42 points to beat Cincinnati. That means we need an almost-flawless offensive performance. We need to be the aggressor offensively. Defensively -- Stay in the 4-man front and hope for the best. If we play solid football, we can beat just about anyone on our schedule. I couldn't say that last season. Let's see if the players and staff can put together a solid game plan and execute it vs. Cinci.

[jstoudemire]

Agreed. Does anyone else feel the playcalling can bit a bit "too" conservative @ times. I feel as if sometimes AK so go for some more shots at the endzone 30-25 yards out....not a whole lot but juss a lil more.

[HELLOZIPS]

Captain - Good Analysis. I thought the 4- D -Linemen did good and that they should stick with it. I thought it was a better outcome did using the 3-3-5 all the time. The mix is good, too. Marcoux, Sewell, Lemon and Pendleton did make some nice stops and they plugged the hole.

[RootforRoo44]

And i thought i was the only person thinking we are too conservative on offense. Let's light it up down the sideline sometimes.

[johnnyzip84]

Perhaps JD (or is that Moorhead....I'm still confused from the ESPN Classic coverage.......or was that the O'Hoppy Ale?) felt that after watching Army on tape, the ONLY way we lose to them is by turning the ball over (fumbles, interceptions, AND on downs). I think that might explain the conservative offensive approach this past week, especially not going for it on 4th and short a couple of times. Of course, the playbook needs to be wide open this week for any chance against Cincy. I've said before that Bowser deserves a few "shots" downfield. Given the right situation, I think our OL can give Jack enough time for a few of these a game. I'm not sure that many secondaries can deal with Jones AND Bowser on simulataneous deep routes.Hey Cap'n, how about a short review/comment on the Ommegang Abbey Ale and Blue Point Toasted Lager? I saw a sign for the former at the Blue Tusk in Syracuse, and the name alone piqued my curiousity.

[Dr Z]

Nice notes CK. I started writing down some notes during the game and then crumpled them up and threw them away.My thoughts at the time were "there is no way we should take anything away from this game, Army is awful"The only thing I wanted to look up: Akron "held" Army to 160 yards rushing. To compare, Army rushed for 210 against Temple and 169 against New Hampshire. Did our defense game plan to stop the run????

[ZachTheZip]

Did our defense game plan to stop the run????

If we didn't have a game plan focused on stopping the run against an option offense, the entire defensive coaching staff should have been fired.

[Dr Z]

Oh yeah, I remember one other item from my crumpled up notes.The announcers made the comment that Akron's DL out-weighed the Army OL by an average of 50 pounds!?!?I don't know Army's roster well enough to know who their starting OL was

[GP1]

One thing I mentioned before the season started was I felt we lacked a "winning attitude". Not to pick on this team, but that has been a huge story for the D-1A history of the program. While we won that game Saturday, I saw signs of it in the play.For example, poor red zone offense. Teams that win a lot score TDs early in games and not field goals. Easy field goals and extra points are made. Balls bouncing off of players hands in the endzone. Foolish penalties in the red zone... False start in an almost quiet stadium by the right tight end when the ball is being run to the left is just stupid.While I complain a lot about Saturday, there were some signs of life.1. The Zips defense was really good against a bad team so they did what they should do. The offense was average and could have been good with a few less mistakes.2. I never had the feeling Army could win.3. CJ11 threw a nice deep pass. Big plays win games.4. DLinemen were getting off blocks and making tackles at the line against a decent running team.5. Until further notice, Pinky should be the starting RB. DK wants to run sideways too bad.6. We completed some passes in traffic.7. Etc.What we really need is consistency and execution*. Teams with winning attitudes are consistently good and play at a high performance level for the entire game. If we can do those two things, we can be good. There is nothing we can do to be great, but good is a possibility. *Execution in sports reminds me of a funny story. In the first year of the Tampa Bay Bucs they lost all of their games. Their coach was an old guy who was asked by a reporter, "What do you think of your team's execution?" Immediately, the coach responded, "I'm in favor of it."

[Dr Z]

*Execution in sports reminds me of a funny story. In the first year of the Tampa Bay Bucs they lost all of their games. Their coach was an old guy who was asked by a reporter, "What do you think of your team's execution?" Immediately, the coach responded, "I'm in favor of it."

John McKay, here are a few others

[UA1987]

1.) Beautiful day for a game. The endzone seats were in the shade...about 70 degrees and shady the entire game. Perfect.2.) Beautiful campus and tailgate area. After sifting through a bunch of misinformation from a local policeman the evening prior, I called the Army ticket office and got the lowdown on the best tailgate lot. It was a great place down in the valley alongside the Hudson. Absolutely perfect. The only downside to the area...like all West Point parking areas...was the fact you needed bussed to the stadium. There was no parking within a mile of the place. 3.) Met some great people in the tailgate lot. Met a few Zips fans after the game, but only one prior. He was living in New York, but attended UA about 10 years ago. Also ran into SoFlaZip in the 4th quarter. Always a treat!4.) I thought Jack had his second consecutive poor outing. His stats didn't look terrible, but he should have had double whatever he ended up with. 5.) Poindexter and Bruce do not appear to need flu shots this fall since they can't catch anything. I want to see more Al Owen next week!6.) Another good outing by the OL. 7.) We've returned to the * Set up* Pause* Look to the sidelines* Reset* Snap the ball I HATE that. And, it wasn't effective. 8.) I would like to see Matt Rogers get a series or two. I don't know if he's any good, but I do know our receivers and OL are. If he's at all capable, he should be able to move the ball.9.) Second week in a row Jack put the ball on the turf while scrambling. 10.) Four DL's for most of the game??!! Holy hell!! The results were mixed, but I am ecstatic to finally see some flexibility. 11.) Waller and Byrd got time at DB, and Waller made a nice break for his INT. 12.) Aaron Williams made a great TFL slicing through the Army OL during the second half. He looks like a playmaker. I want to see more of him.13.) Igor pouting since he was removed from kickoff duties? He seemed to right the ship, so hopefully it was just a hiccup.14.) Stec was bad yet again. I don't care what his average was...his punts were lousy. BTW - With a limited 65 person travel roster, why do we bring two kickers and two punters? 15.) We did miss Alex Allen in the red zone. He would have dominated Saturday. But Johnson and Kennedy should be good enough. Tuzze reeled off some good chunks of yardage late in the game too.16.) We need to score 42 points to beat Cincinnati. That means we need an almost-flawless offensive performance. We need to be the aggressor offensively. Defensively -- Stay in the 4-man front and hope for the best. If we play solid football, we can beat just about anyone on our schedule. I couldn't say that last season. Let's see if the players and staff can put together a solid game plan and execute it vs. Cinci.

While it would be nice to give Rodgers some snaps in case of injury it would not be to replace Jacquemin. Jacq will be servicable this year (just two short weeks ago he was the MAC East Offensive player of the week), but he'll make just enough mistakes to keep the complaints coming. Owens would be a step backwards to last year's problems. Our new receivers are actually an upgrade from 2007, despite having a drop or two this year (at least they get open - Arthur excluded from criticism). Moorhead should be upstairs in the booth (that would limit those looks to the sideline). While some on this board have said the Army game was boring, I enjoyed watching it on ESPN (U?). This week I'll be at the Rubber Bowl rain or shine.

[#1 rowdy]

Perhaps JD (or is that Moorhead....I'm still confused from the ESPN Classic coverage.......This was actually Bill Bliel they were showing the entire game on ESPN Classic. Moorhead should be upstairs in the booth (that would limit those looks to the sideline). Moorhead is in the press box not on the field .

[UA1987]

Perhaps JD (or is that Moorhead....I'm still confused from the ESPN Classic coverage.......This was actually Bill Bliel they were showing the entire game on ESPN Classic. Moorhead should be upstairs in the booth (that would limit those looks to the sideline). Moorhead is in the press box not on the field .

Then put Bleil up there too. Whatever it takes to stop the look to the sideline.

[Quickzips]

As underwhelmed as I still am with Jacq, I can't see giving Rodgers time at this point unless we are going to commit to him for the rest of the season. The LAST thing I want to get into is another one of these games of guess the QB this year. It was an absolute mess last year and it isn't going to work very well this year. I was also very surprised to see the everyone stand up and look to the sidelines for the play offense. This was the first time I've seen the team this year, but I was told we were done with that shit. Bruce in particular needs to look into transitioning to DB. That boy has TERRIBLE hands. I would hardly call it a good outing by the O-line. Acceptable maybe, but good, not by my book. A good outing by the offensive line would entail a lot less in terms of stupid focus penalties. We got away with it a lot b/c Army is so woefully bad that another 5 yards wasn't really an issue. Against Cincinnati and most of the rest of our schedule, 20 yards in false start penalties could end more than one drive and that is a BIG problem. This has been an ongoing issue for us and I don't know what it is going to take to fix it. In the end it is kind of difficult to take much of anything away from this game. Army is a mess in every facet of the game, particularly on offense.

[gozips19]

"4.) I thought Jack had his second consecutive poor outing. His stats didn't look terrible, but he should have had double whatever he ended up with. "he's the chris rix of the zips....jac giveth and jac taketh away.....still much better than last year"5.) Poindexter and Bruce do not appear to need flu shots this fall since they can't catch anything. I want to see more Al Owen next week!"still not giving up on bruce. merc????? lets just say i am ready for more cruz"8.) I would like to see Matt Rogers get a series or two. I don't know if he's any good, but I do know our receivers and OL are. If he's at all capable, he should be able to move the ball."thought rodgers should start from the start of the season but the team will be in the hunt all year and playing two qb's hardly ever works"12.) Aaron Williams made a great TFL slicing through the Army OL during the second half. He looks like a playmaker. I want to see more of him."couldn't agree more....should take more of d will's playing time, he just doesn't make plays"15.) We did miss Alex Allen in the red zone. He would have dominated Saturday. But Johnson and Kennedy should be good enough. Tuzze reeled off some good chunks of yardage late in the game too."Pinky needs more carries, he's a play maker. Tuzze should be the goal line back"If we play solid football, we can beat just about anyone on our schedule. I couldn't say that last season. Let's see if the players and staff can put together a solid game plan and execute it vs. Cinci."agree! you can make a case that akron should win the east. bg is similar to akron. poor d an o that can look great at times but doesn't put it all together. ohio can't stop beating itself. Can't is just bad! miami...see Can't but with a little more talent. ub looks like the most balanced but lacks some depth. temple looks bad with out de michael just like last year. the east is there for the taking....lets hope the can put it all together!see you at the bowl this weekend!

[GP1]

*Execution in sports reminds me of a funny story. In the first year of the Tampa Bay Bucs they lost all of their games. Their coach was an old guy who was asked by a reporter, "What do you think of your team's execution?" Immediately, the coach responded, "I'm in favor of it."

John McKay, here are a few others

Good stuff. Here is another you will appreciate. Chuck Noll was asked during his first year with the Steelers what he thought of his players and he said something like...."The bad news is we are not very good. The good news is half of these guys won't be here next year."

[zipboy]

Nice overviews, just a few other thoughts.1. The announcers made 1 smart comment - JD mentioned that Jacq's game falls off in the 2nd half due to focus or whatever. That has been consistent this year, a good 1st half with a mediocre 2nd half. In the 4th quarter, this was the 1st time all year I did not want to throw the ball and was worried about a mistake. 2. If Torrence is healthy, he should be the 3rd back. We need 3 solid backs. I would rather Torrence get 5 carries a game than Tuzze. If there is 1 position to not redshirt it is RB. Those guys only have so many carries in them. It seems like some RB goes down every year with a season ending injury and I would rather have the redshirt available for that. If Torrence on special teams and 5 carries a game, helps win 1 game, it is worth it.3. Does Cincy kick deep or pooch it? If they pooch it, can we do a better job than getting back to the 25 yard line?4. Watching Army on offense reminded me of watching a Dan Hipsher run offense. 5. I never sneeze at a win especially a road win against a 1A team, but of the 4 games this year, the most unimpressive so far. I look for a good showing this week. This week is the difference between 8-4 and bowl for sure or 7-5 and maybe staying at home.

[uafan]

There are some excellent points made on this subject. But OMG, someone else finally sees what I have been saying about Stec from day one! Thank you, Captain! If you think back to just about any game he's played, he starts well, but goes downhill by the second half. Army was a good example. You can look it up.I agree that with a limited travel group, 2 PK's and 2 punters are a bit much. Igor did alright kicking off, why did he lose that job? The new kicker has more power, but he line drives it. The ball gets to the receiver fast, and we can't cover quickly enough. I'm afraid that someone will return one on us soon.As for 2 punters, Hildreth is Igor's preferred holder. And since he's there, why not let him punt the second half when Stec seems to tire?

[RootforRoo44]

i dont know if this has been mentioned but did anyone hear the one announcer call the info "the 8th wonder of the world"? Also they both raved about it for about a minute.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The LAST thing I want to get into is another one of these games of guess the QB this year.

It is a fine line to walk between letting the starter know that if he screws up repeatedly, there's someone waiting to take his spot. And...ruining his confidence by having him look over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake (insert the second Dan Hipsher reference of the thread here).I just want to win. And against Army, you can "manage the game" and win. Against Cincinnati, if Jacq "manages the game," we'll lose. He needs to make plays. Otherwise, it is Ball State Part 2.The big plays are there to be made. Jones and Bowser will be open. And Jacq can wreak serious havoc if he consistently hits them in the numbers.

[Blue & Gold]

i dont know if this has been mentioned but did anyone hear the one announcer call the info "the 8th wonder of the world"? Also they both raved about it for about a minute.

I didn't catch that! What all were they saying about it?

[Captain Kangaroo]

*Execution in sports reminds me of a funny story. In the first year of the Tampa Bay Bucs they lost all of their games. Their coach was an old guy who was asked by a reporter, "What do you think of your team's execution?" Immediately, the coach responded, "I'm in favor of it."

John McKay, here are a few others

Good stuff. Here is another you will appreciate. Chuck Noll was asked during his first year with the Steelers what he thought of his players and he said something like...."The bad news is we are not very good. The good news is half of these guys won't be here next year."

Here's one from The Simpsons:Homer changed his name to Max Power (got the idea from a blow dryer).Homer: "There are three ways to do things...the right way...the wrong way...and the Max Power way."Lisa: "Isn't the Max Power way the same as the wrong way?"Homer: "Yes, but faster!"I think of that one every time Rogovic line-drives a kickoff. Same result as Igor, but faster.