Mid-season grades

[ZachTheZip]

It's already half way through the season and the Zips are 3-3. A nice start, but it could have been even better.Here are my grades for the positions on the team for the past 6 games.Offense:QB = B- Jacq has our offense looking much better than last year, and he seems to have a confidence that was lacking at this point a year ago. He has thrown too many INTs, but most of them are because his WRs have developed a case of butterfingers. He manages the game well, but when he tries to do too much things fall apart.RB = B+ The running game looked to be our strength early in the season with tons of depth. Now we are down to one of the three RBs we started with and this unit hasn't looked as good. They do enough to keep opposing defenses honest but unless Andrew Johnson returns soon or Devoe Torrence has his redshirt removed, we run the risk of becoming one-dimensional on offense.WR = B- Who would have thought they would be a strength before the season started? The dropped passes need to stop, but they routinely come up big when the game is on the line. Put some stickum on their gloves and I would rate them as an A+TE = C- Where are you, Poindexter? We try to get you into the offense, but you drop more balls than the WRs. You block OK, but we could really use a pair of sure hands out there.FB = B Joe Tuzze needs to see the ball more. He is now our most consistent runner and he has proven himself a capable tailback when needed. His blocking ain't bad, either.OL = B- Pass protection is good, but Jacq holding on to theball too long makes them look worse than they are. There are always holes open on running plays. The biggest problem is the high snap. We simply can't afford those on an offense that is at its best getting the play devloped in a hurry. In short: keep up the good work, but STOP WITH THE FRIGGIN HIGH SNAPS!!!!Defense:DL = C Our players are playing out of position due to a terrible scheme. These guys would be mosters in a 4-3, but that's unfortunately not the case. Injuries were a little too common on this unit, but the players have returned. The backups didn't do too bad given the circumstances.LB = C- Almost non-existant at the beginning of the year, and still non-existant when it comes to stopping the run. They seem to be at their best on passing plays and they do come up with big stops occasionaly. I thought this would be a strength, but they have yet to impress me.DB = B Another suprise on this team. We have some real playmakers, including B.Will playing at his natural position. They held their own against Ball State, but dumb turnovers kept them from having an easier time.Special Teams:K = B- Yeah, Igor won the Wagon Wheel, but he also went two games where he absolutely stunk. I am hoping that the game at Can't was enough to snap him out of his funk.P = B- Stec is at his best when he can just let it fly. He's at his worst when he tries to do anything beyond that.KR/PR = B+ Teams have learned to kick away from B.Will and Jones, creating a bit of a problem. Kicking short to one of our blockers actually gives us worse field position than is they kick it deep to our great returnersCoaches: C Playcalling has stagnated, schemes are designed for players that we don't have, and we still see super-hyped players dissappear off the face of the earth. In spite of all that, the team is in a great position to win the division and the team keeps bouncing back instead of giving up after a bad outing.So, how do you guys rate this team?Akron is better than we admit. We shy away from being called a good team, because we have been burned before. But we need to embrace good play while we can.

[GoZips]

uakronkid, your assessment is fine except for one thing. You need to move all your lettergrades down one full letter. Your high marks read like you have been sniffing the sunshine.Since the coaches have not fixed the high snaps after six games they deserve an "F".

[Buckzip]

It's already half way through the season and the Zips are 3-3. A nice start, but it could have been even better.Here are my grades for the positions on the team for the past 6 games.Offense:QB = B- Jacq has our offense looking much better than last year, and he seems to have a confidence that was lacking at this point a year ago. He has thrown too many INTs, but most of them are because his WRs have developed a case of butterfingers. He manages the game well, but when he tries to do too much things fall apart.RB = B+ The running game looked to be our strength early in the season with tons of depth. Now we are down to one of the three RBs we started with and this unit hasn't looked as good. They do enough to keep opposing defenses honest but unless Andrew Johnson returns soon or Devoe Torrence has his redshirt removed, we run the risk of becoming one-dimensional on offense.WR = B- Who would have thought they would be a strength before the season started? The dropped passes need to stop, but they routinely come up big when the game is on the line. Put some stickum on their gloves and I would rate them as an A+TE = C- Where are you, Poindexter? We try to get you into the offense, but you drop more balls than the WRs. You block OK, but we could really use a pair of sure hands out there.FB = B Joe Tuzze needs to see the ball more. He is now our most consistent runner and he has proven himself a capable tailback when needed. His blocking ain't bad, either.OL = B- Pass protection is good, but Jacq holding on to theball too long makes them look worse than they are. There are always holes open on running plays. The biggest problem is the high snap. We simply can't afford those on an offense that is at its best getting the play devloped in a hurry. In short: keep up the good work, but STOP WITH THE FRIGGIN HIGH SNAPS!!!!Defense:DL = C Our players are playing out of position due to a terrible scheme. These guys would be mosters in a 4-3, but that's unfortunately not the case. Injuries were a little too common on this unit, but the players have returned. The backups didn't do too bad given the circumstances.LB = C- Almost non-existant at the beginning of the year, and still non-existant when it comes to stopping the run. They seem to be at their best on passing plays and they do come up with big stops occasionaly. I thought this would be a strength, but they have yet to impress me.DB = B Another suprise on this team. We have some real playmakers, including B.Will playing at his natural position. They held their own against Ball State, but dumb turnovers kept them from having an easier time.Special Teams:K = B- Yeah, Igor won the Wagon Wheel, but he also went two games where he absolutely stunk. I am hoping that the game at Can't was enough to snap him out of his funk.P = B- Stec is at his best when he can just let it fly. He's at his worst when he tries to do anything beyond that.KR/PR = B+ Teams have learned to kick away from B.Will and Jones, creating a bit of a problem. Kicking short to one of our blockers actually gives us worse field position than is they kick it deep to our great returnersCoaches: C Playcalling has stagnated, schemes are designed for players that we don't have, and we still see super-hyped players dissappear off the face of the earth. In spite of all that, the team is in a great position to win the division and the team keeps bouncing back instead of giving up after a bad outing.So, how do you guys rate this team?Akron is better than we admit. We shy away from being called a good team, because we have been burned before. But we need to embrace good play while we can.

We are 3-3. You report card makes it sound like we are 4-2 or 5-1.I would give mostly c's. That is average and 3-3 is average.

[Dr Z]

A little early for grades IMO. We beat Syracuse, Army & Can't.If we lost to any one of those "teams" the "fire JD" threads would be obnoxious.We need to become more consistent. The one thing I do like now (that I didn't before)is the time off after the next two games. It sets up nice to improve our team. A goodcoaching staff is always able to improve their team with lot of time off between games. We should be a much better team when we play Toledo. I'll be ready for some grades after that game (good or bad).

[GP1]

Coaches: C Playcalling has stagnated, schemes are designed for players that we don't have, and we still see super-hyped players dissappear off the face of the earth. In spite of all that, the team is in a great position to win the division and the team keeps bouncing back instead of giving up after a bad outing.

Here is the question I would ask about coaching to decide their grades. Is the available talent getting better or worse as the season progresses (don't punish for injuries)? If the answer is yes, then give them something in the B range. If the same, a C is in order. If worse, something in the D range is in order.

[Let'sGoZips94]

A little early for grades IMO. We beat Syracuse, Army & Can't.If we lost to any one of those "teams" the "fire JD" threads would be obnoxious.We need to become more consistent. The one thing I do like now (that I didn't before)is the time off after the next two games. It sets up nice to improve our team. A goodcoaching staff is always able to improve their team with lot of time off between games. We should be a much better team when we play Toledo. I'll be ready for some grades after that game (good or bad).

Yeah, I see your point, but we lost to Wisconsin, Cincy (barely), and Ball State. Those are respectable losses, and we were in the games most of the time. But yes, we MUST be more consistent if we want to contend for a MAC title.