Long term damage

[Lee Adams]

the temple game is another harsh example of the gap between the overall talent level of the zips and the BEST teams in the mac year in and year out...after the middle of the second quarter this looked like a DI team playing a high school team...temple is faster and stronger overall and just bulldozed akron...this happened with cmu and niu also...akron simply does not have enough talent on the field or on the sideline right now to compete with the best mac teams...problem is the affects of that will last for several more years... fortunately there are a few kids to build around but becoming really competetive may take a while...sad...

[dreal1scout]

the temple game is another harsh example of the gap between the overall talent level of the zips and the BEST teams in the mac year in and year out...after the middle of the second quarter this looked like a DI team playing a high school team...temple is faster and stronger overall and just bulldozed akron...this happened with cmu and niu also...akron simply does not have enough talent on the field or on the sideline right now to compete with the best mac teams...problem is the affects of that will last for several more years... fortunately there are a few kids to build around but becoming really competetive may take a while...sad...

Very dissapointing. As bad as it does look right now, I got to believe that we will be a MUCH improved team next year. I now it may sound like BS, like the SOS year after year, but when I see who we will be returning I have to believe that we will be contenders. If the competition stays the same level, I think our improved team will have talent enough to overcome. Yes, "we shall overcome"! We're gonna have so many Bitc..s next year, we may have to build a big fenced-in Dog Pound just to house them all in! We just have to make the best of it for the next couple games. I don't expect to be posting any coulda shoulda posts next season. There will be no excuses. I hope the time rolls around quickly, cause I, like all of the ZN, K.A.N.T wait to celebrate! GO ZIPS! should be a reality next year. And we all will be dancing/drinkin', humpin' like there's no tomorrow.

[zippy_ua_00]

the temple game is another harsh example of the gap between the overall talent level of the zips and the BEST teams in the mac year in and year out...after the middle of the second quarter this looked like a DI team playing a high school team...temple is faster and stronger overall and just bulldozed akron...this happened with cmu and niu also...akron simply does not have enough talent on the field or on the sideline right now to compete with the best mac teams...problem is the affects of that will last for several more years... fortunately there are a few kids to build around but becoming really competetive may take a while...sad...

Very dissapointing. As bad as it does look right now, I got to believe that we will be a MUCH improved team next year. I now it may sound like BS, like the SOS year after year, but when I see who we will be returning I have to believe that we will be contenders. If the competition stays the same level, I think our improved team will have talent enough to overcome. Yes, "we shall overcome"! We're gonna have so many Bitc..s next year, we may have to build a big fenced-in Dog Pound just to house them all in! We just have to make the best of it for the next couple games. I don't expect to be posting any coulda shoulda posts next season. There will be no excuses. I hope the time rolls around quickly, cause I, like all of the ZN, K.A.N.T wait to celebrate! GO ZIPS! should be a reality next year. And we all will be dancing/drinkin', humpin' like there's no tomorrow.

someone get me what he is smoking

[RACER]

i would like to have some of that stuff to.we are so far from winning the mac.temple beat us on every part of thegame.we looked like a high school team out there.even if we get the right coach it will still take a few years for us to compete at a level like temple played tonight.we just don't have the players to compete right now.the good new is emu is probably as bad as us.it would be nice to end the season on a positive note.i have no idea what to expect at bg next week.

[zippy_ua_00]

i would like to have some of that stuff to.we are so far from winning the mac.temple beat us on every part of thegame.we looked like a high school team out there.even if we get the right coach it will still take a few years for us to compete at a level like temple played tonight.we just don't have the players to compete right now.the good new is emu is probably as bad as us.it would be nice to end the season on a positive note.i have no idea what to expect at bg next week.

we will lose to BG and EMU will make it a close game and we may pull it out. as for whoever posted about us making everyone their bitches next year, he also said that we would make PSU our bitch too so hes been on something for a while. should probably check into some sort of rehab treatment center. he obviously isnt seeing what everyone else is seeing. I mean it took Temple a few years to build what they have now. Oh, i didnt get to watch the game due to the fact that i was working, but i did see the box score and noticed they put wackerly in. Was it just during garbage time, or did nicely get hurt, or whats the deal with that?

[KentZip]

We really were outsized and outplayed. If the coach next year decides to actually join the MAC and start competing, we will have to start playing a different defense. The recruiting of small quick defensive backfield players will have to be slowed down and we will have to start recruiting larger athletes. Everyone else in the MAC does it. Why can't we? Our D Line is constantly one of the smallest I see all year. Overweight LB's and DE's trying to stuff up the middle just isn't going to work in the MAC.

[Blue & Gold]

<br />

i would like to have some of that stuff to.we are so far from winning the mac.temple beat us on every part of the<br />game.we looked like a high school team out there.even if we get the right coach it will still take a few years for us to compete at a level like temple played tonight.we just don't have the players to compete right now.the good new is emu is probably as bad as us.it would be nice to end the season on a positive note.i have no idea what to expect at bg next week.

<br />we will lose to BG and EMU will make it a close game and we may pull it out. as for whoever posted about us making everyone their bitches next year, he also said that we would make PSU our bitch too so hes been on something for a while. should probably check into some sort of rehab treatment center. he obviously isnt seeing what everyone else is seeing. I mean it took Temple a few years to build what they have now. Oh, i didnt get to watch the game due to the fact that i was working, but i did see the box score and noticed they put wackerly in. Was it just during garbage time, or did nicely get hurt, or whats the deal with that?<br />

<br /><br /><br />Wackerly got some pure garbage PT. Nicely is fine.

[GP1]

the temple game is another harsh example of the gap between the overall talent level of the zips and the BEST teams in the mac year in and year out...after the middle of the second quarter this looked like a DI team playing a high school team...temple is faster and stronger overall and just bulldozed akron...this happened with cmu and niu also...akron simply does not have enough talent on the field or on the sideline right now to compete with the best mac teams...problem is the affects of that will last for several more years... fortunately there are a few kids to build around but becoming really competetive may take a while...sad...

Lee, I don't want to sound like I'm picking on you, but you're just wrong about the talent on the team. Akron does have the talent, but the coaching is not there. They need bigger size on the field. Too many DBs on the field and not enough medium and large sized players.Everyone should be hesitant to look at last night's game as an indication of our talent. I said this during last year's recruiting season when Temple was stocking up talent, they are about to become the next Marshall in the MAC but they will get to Marshall's level a different way. I didn't think they would get this good this fast though. They at least looked to have UCONN type talent on the field. Akron has MAC talent on the field....you can win in the MAC with MAC talent. They have a huge population to draw from so they can get a better pick of players. They actually can get Big East type players to come to school there (Philadelphia is next to New Jersey and NJ produces a lot of very good college football players...not to mention Pennsylvania does as well). For all of you facilities lovers, they play in an NFL stadium. Their school is in an urban setting and they can more easily draw the type of player necessary to win in this horrible conference. Temple is one of only three D-1A football teams in PA so they don't water down their in state talent like Ohio does with seven D-1A teams. Temple wants to win and they are showing they can throw their weight around. Temple will win the MAC this year and be the best team in the MAC for at least the next four years....take it to the bank. Temple wants to win....most of the MAC "BUILDS" and wishes they could win.NIU was the third game on the road in a row. That's exhausting for a team and if they looked slow during that game, it should be expected.

[GP1]

We really were outsized and outplayed. If the coach next year decides to actually join the MAC and start competing, we will have to start playing a different defense. The recruiting of small quick defensive backfield players will have to be slowed down and we will have to start recruiting larger athletes. Everyone else in the MAC does it. Why can't we? Our D Line is constantly one of the smallest I see all year. Overweight LB's and DE's trying to stuff up the middle just isn't going to work in the MAC.

Welcome to the club. I don't know how we can play so many DBs and give up so many big plays down field.Size matters. Oue DL isn't that small, they just look small because there are so few of them on the field. I think we looked small compared to Temple because Temple has accumulated, in a very short time, the best talent in the league. We didn' look smaller than any other MAC team we played this season.

[Dave in Green]

The Temple players were not just bigger than the Zips, they were faster, less error-prone and had a better game plan that they executed better than the Zips.

[MDZip]

Temple is one of only three D-1A football teams in PA so they don't water down their in state talent like Ohio does with seven D-1A teams.

I assume you're not counting Can't then? I sometimes wonder how much of a factor it is for talent dilution in the state with all of the D-1A teams (even though most of them are at the bottom of the D-1A scale). Ohio has more D-1A teams than even California or Florida. Second only to Texas (11).

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

I have to strongly agree with Lee on this one. There are some long term posters here who talk about the talent that the Zippers have accumulated over the years, that our biggest issues are the coaching and the athletic culture in the program. Having watched the games closely this year, I don't see the talent. I see a few players that are stand outs and then an alarming and large fall off thereafter. Regarding the D, I absolutely cringe any time I see an opposing offensive player running toward the edge. I have learned that (1) our linebackers (with the exception of Wagner, who has been outstanding, and magically appears from the bottom of every pile on every play) are too slow, and that (2) once a player makes the edge and turns up field, we are utterly screwed. The secondary is tiny, unathletic and doesn't hit. Oh, and they usually don't cover anyone either. I'm sure those little corners are fast as blazes and yet they seem to get beaten BADLY on every downfield throw. For goodness sake, if you're playing smurfs on cover, they should at least excel at coverage shouldn't they?We all know the 4 or 5 players that appear to get it done every week, but where's the rest of the team? Sorry fellas, but if the Zips' talent level is better than it was in years past, then we are still totally bottom of the barrel talent-wise and have a long, long way to go before we're even year-in-and-year-out solid in the crappy MAC.I was stunned last night looking at the obvious talent and size differential between these two teams. During the very first series I looked over at the guy sitting next to me and said how much bigger the Owls appeared to be on both sides of the ball. Bigger. Check.Faster. Check.Smarter. Check.Smoother. Check.I'm becoming afraid that we're seeing....nothing. This entire season is taking me right back to where I was as a student all those years ago when the Zips were little more than a local joke. I'm beginning to worry that without major, major changes in the program and an ugly and aggressive drive to win that is pushed from Proenza himself, that 5 years from now we'll be watching the same slow, uninspired, talentless team get beaten by other crappy, talentless teams in this most dull of conferences and the only silver lining will be that we get to watch at the Info.Talk to me about talent when these kids actually DO something on the field worth talking about.

[Buckzip]

Akron has some very good talent. Don't confuse the coaching staffs inability to develop and properly utilize the talent with not having any talent.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

Akron has some very good talent. Don't confuse the coaching staffs inability to develop and properly utilize the talent with not having any talent.

Buckzip I like and respect your posts here, but let me challenge you and the other posters who talk about the talent we have on this team. Who exactly are you talking about? Go beyond Wagner, Lemon, Nicely and a couple other frequently-heard names. I'll tell you what I see: slow, soft, small, unathletic, unintelligent players who don't match up well with solid teams and get beat play after play.I see LaFrance signaling "field goal" when the Temple kicker puts it through the Akron uprights on a kick off from the 45 after a terrible face mask penalty by the Zips on the previous play, a Temple touchdown.I see Bowser having a blast on the sideline, as the score is sliding up into the 40s and 50s for Temple, yucking it up with other offensive players as the Info now has about 1,000 people (maybe) left in the stands. Bowser is racing around as if he has no injury, Mr. Prankster and his merry bunch (including the aforementioned LaFrance) while I'm contemplating a brown bag on my head for the next game.I see an entire secondary of tiny little players. I would guess that JD'd intention is that they are small but fast and will cover well down the field. Except that they don't! They don't chuck, they don't cover and they get killed when actual football contact occurs upon their little selves. I'm waiting for one of them to literally be "smote" on contact with larger opposing players one of these weeks, and I don't even really know what "smote" means. I see an undersized D-line (all three of them at a time!) and a well-sized but sluggish and oafish O-line. They both get beat, play after play.I will pass on even commenting on the kickers and the special teams players. I'm not a former college football player or coach, but I see what I see. I see players that don't fit. I see some players who are OK with getting demolished. I see a supposed NFL-type talent playing around with other players who are supposed to be prepping for their next possession. The whole thing has become painful. So, someone please provide specifics regarding the "talent" that is supposedly on this team. Who will magically turn into players when JD disappears?

[jaycevs]

Thank god we dont have to play Villanova, since they have no trouble with the Owls. This game should be a good thing for most of us. First, I dont think there is a lack of talent, second, this showing should be a big nail in JD's coffin, and three, this game may be the final time we see Al Golden, as he bolts for big money at another program. I also dont think we were dominated physically, but mentally we suck. Kickoffs going out of bounds, catching kickoffs out of bounds, the terrible Nicely pass while dancing around the rush, the punt return on special teams. We were alright against their run game, and forgot everything else that can happen in a football game. Last, and most important, I got on the scoreboard, I was thinking Arbys.

[Let'sGoZips94]

I think this team has the talent. Is there room for an improvement in talent? No doubt. IMO, the 2 things that need the most improvement going into next season are:1) Toughness- Physically and mentally. If their QB is running, hit him (cleanly) with all you have. 2) Coaching/preparation- I think we need a new system in place with the new stadium and basically new team. I'm liking what I'm seeing overall though. Nicely looks like a true freshman, but he's very intelligent for a true freshman. Wagner is a very talented LB. I love college football, but the Zips really need to start doing something.

[GP1]

I have learned that (1) our linebackers (with the exception of Wagner, who has been outstanding, and magically appears from the bottom of every pile on every play) are too slow, and that (2) once a player makes the edge and turns up field, we are utterly screwed. The secondary is tiny, unathletic and doesn't hit.

I can explain this one. With only three dlinemen, the offense can double team at the point of attack knocking our dline back into the lbs. Think of the dline as the offensive line for the linebackers. They get in the way so the lbs can make most of the plays on running downs. If the oline is pushed back into the backfield, the rb can't run because the line is at his feet. If the dline is pushed back, they get in the feet of the lbs and the lbs look slow.DBs are designed to cover foremost and tackle second. We put too many on the field and hope they can tackle. DBs are little and they struggle to tackle medium sized players such as running backs. Over the course of a game and year, they get worn down and it becomes difficult for them to either tackle or cover.A new defensive scheme will improve this team.

[GP1]

Nicely looks like a true freshman, but he's very intelligent for a true freshman.

I agree and disagree. Nicely did look like a freshman in that his accuracy is was poor last night. How many times did he throw the ball out of bounds? No catch can be made on a ball out of bounds. He threw the ball directly to one of their players....that isn't intelligent and he learned better in JR High. He was terrible after the first drive.Nicely needs to play better and I'll leave it at that.

[72 Roo]

At best we have mediocre talent. We also have poor coaching and a horrible defensive scheme with an average offensive plan (refer back to my comment on coaching). Our LB's are undersized and cannot plug holes or stop the run. Our DB's rarely tackle and never tackle driving the ball-carrier back. This doesn't bode well for the future. Those on this board who say all we need to do is heal up and next year will be great are either extremely optimistic, ignorant or thinking they are on the USC board.BTW, don't you think Temple is just biding its time until it can get back in the Big East? They are using the MAC to rehab and rebuild their program. I'd say they are on their way.We need Luis to make a major statement with the full backing of his office. I believe in him and feel he is capable of fixing this mess.

[Dave in Green]

Nicely did look like a freshman in that his accuracy is was poor last night. How many times did he throw the ball out of bounds? No catch can be made on a ball out of bounds. He threw the ball directly to one of their players....that isn't intelligent and he learned better in JR High. He was terrible after the first drive.Nicely needs to play better and I'll leave it at that.

Football is a dynamic, ever-changing game where offensive and defensive adjustments must be made throughout the game. Nicely and the rest of the Zips offense looked OK until the Temple defense adjusted and shut them down. The Zips offense never adjusted to the adjusted Temple defense. The Temple secondary began covering the Zips receivers very tightly. Nicely looked from receiver to receiver to receiver and found none open. By that time the rush was on him and he was forced to throw out of bounds, which is smart and not a freshman mistake. Forcing the ball in to well-covered receivers would have been a freshman mistake.The Zips team was overwhelmed by a much better team. Nicely cannot be expected to do it by himself.

[jhg722]

BTW, don't you think Temple is just biding its time until it can get back in the Big East? They are using the MAC to rehab and rebuild their program. I'd say they are on their way.

That's certainly our plan and goal. Thanks for the kind words. Go Owls.

[GP1]

Nicely did look like a freshman in that his accuracy is was poor last night. How many times did he throw the ball out of bounds? No catch can be made on a ball out of bounds. He threw the ball directly to one of their players....that isn't intelligent and he learned better in JR High. He was terrible after the first drive.Nicely needs to play better and I'll leave it at that.

Football is a dynamic, ever-changing game where offensive and defensive adjustments must be made throughout the game. Nicely and the rest of the Zips offense looked OK until the Temple defense adjusted and shut them down. The Zips offense never adjusted to the adjusted Temple defense. The Temple secondary began covering the Zips receivers very tightly. Nicely looked from receiver to receiver to receiver and found none open. By that time the rush was on him and he was forced to throw out of bounds, which is smart and not a freshman mistake. Forcing the ball in to well-covered receivers would have been a freshman mistake.The Zips team was overwhelmed by a much better team. Nicely cannot be expected to do it by himself.

I agree that he can't do it by himself, but it all starts with him. He has the ball in his hands every play.What he can do is not throw the ball directly to the other team's player. What he can do is throw the ball in bounds so our guy has at least a chance to catch it.Let's not make too many excuses for poor performance because the kid is a freshman. He has a full scholarship to a college and if he gets in the game he needs to earn that scholarship. He will be good, but Friday he left a lot to be desired.

[Big Zip]

The lack of execution can be attributed to coaching, the speed is something we were sorely lacking. Temple was the fastest team I've seen us play against all year.Some of the things that I am amazed by are --- we played at beat Temple when they were in the Big East now they are recruiting with the MAC albatross hanging around their neck and they recruit better and completely cleaned our clock...how does that happen? Temple has possibly the worst campus location of any school in the MAC (have you been to Temple) yeah it is in Philly, but is in a part of Philly where you should be afraid to go out at night. All this brings us back to Al Golden...the guy must be a genius. When are we going to hire our Al Golden, Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly etc. There are no excuses for this school any longer they need to put the money into the coaching and up their standards.

[templefan]

Temple has possibly the worst campus location of any school in the MAC (have you been to Temple) yeah it is in Philly, but is in a part of Philly where you should be afraid to go out at night.

With all due respect, I do not believe that you, Big Zip, have ever been on Temple's campus, day or night.I love the new stadium and Akron has very nice skill players and a young team. Nicely has already established himself as a hot QB and will continue to improve over the next few seasons.

[GP1]

The lack of execution can be attributed to coaching, the speed is something we were sorely lacking. Temple was the fastest team I've seen us play against all year.Some of the things that I am amazed by are --- we played at beat Temple when they were in the Big East now they are recruiting with the MAC albatross hanging around their neck and they recruit better and completely cleaned our clock...how does that happen? Temple has possibly the worst campus location of any school in the MAC (have you been to Temple) yeah it is in Philly, but is in a part of Philly where you should be afraid to go out at night. All this brings us back to Al Golden...the guy must be a genius. When are we going to hire our Al Golden, Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly etc. There are no excuses for this school any longer they need to put the money into the coaching and up their standards.

Good post. Especially the part about the MAC albatross.Calling what Temple has a "campus" is being generous. I've been there. It's just sort of a part of the city that bridges two slums.Could it be that Temple is winning because they are recruiting EXACTLY the type of player that is not afraid to go out at night around their campus? We're busy recruiting "players we can all be proud of"....we all know what that means.If I could ask one question in the interview process for the next coach, I would ask: "I believe there is a lot of talent on this team and they have underperformed. Do you agree there is currently enough talent to win in the MAC?" If he goes on about a "building process" don't hire him.