Captain's Blog

[Captain Kangaroo]

1.) Nicely did about as good as any QB could expect to do, with almost zero protection from his offensive line. The OL continued it's regression of 2009.

2.) Nicely's biggest mistake of the night was throwing a ball into the stands on 3rd and 3... when he esily could have ran for 5 yards. It would have been a BIG 1st down.

3.) At WR, the Zips have Jeremy LaFrance, and no one else. Jalil Carter looked lost, and Gary Pride couldn't shake his man to save his life.

4.) When watching a bad QB, there are multiple times during the game when, after the QB runs around for a while eluding the rush, you say "Jesus... there were 2 guys wide open!!! How the hell didn't he see them??!!" I don't think that happened once last night. Our receivers were covered like blankets all night. Nicely's decisions to ditch the ball were usually the right ones.

5.) I don't think I ever saw a receiver break off his route to help Nicely, as he ran for his life, either.

6.) I thought Alex Allen looked ok. Better than in 2009 for certain. But he only got 7 carries. He needs more than 7 carries.

7.) Burney is a tough little kid, but he's small, and a good lick from a DL sends him flying. We need another RB in our rotation.

8.) One of the worst calls of the night was sending Burney up the middle on 3rd and 1. AA easily gets that yard. iCoach must not have witnessed "Metcalf up the Middle."

9.) Another terrible call was going for the FG on 4th and 2. iCoach showed zero confidence in his offense. He didn't play to win the game. You only get a BCS team at home on rare occasion...iCoach didn't coach like he wanted to make a statement. No aggressive play calls all night.

10.) I turned to my son on Igor's 1st kick and said "Watch it hit the center in the butt." I was 1 kick too early on my call.

11.) How many low liners does Igor need to kick before someone realizes that's all he can do? Our chance of AA getting those 2 yards was WAY better than Igor making theFG.

12.) Campbell had some beautiful punts. And no horrific ones. Best punting I've seen in some time. Certainly since the Stec Ohio State game.

13.) Illegal formation penalties were inexcusable. Hard to fathom how we could be so unprepared.

14.) This Syracuse team was a lot better than the bumbling, hapless crew we played 2 seasons ago. They aren't spectacular by any stretch, but they appeared well coached, and I liked their D-line.

15.) Syracuse brought 500 fans max. A nice showing, but no where near the rumored 5k.

16.) The Zips D-line played very well. They got good QB pressure for most of the night. Lemon had an excellent game.

17.) Wagner had an excellent game too. It is too bad our offense was so pathetic. The Zips D eventually wore out.

18.) Nice to see Delone Carter, and the other Syracuse RB's work for their yards. We saw no gamebreaking plays...no 50 yard TD runs...no man-amongst-boys plays that made the Zips D look like a Pop Warner group. Overall, our D played fine.

19.) Province had a rough game. But at least the 2nd time he got beat he was smart enough to interfere and take the 15 yards, rather than risk a 40 yard catch.

20.) When we had a guy run a deep route, we threw into quadruple coverage. When Syracuse threw deep, we never had 2 DB's in the vicinity.

21.) GP1 mentioned that he'd be pissed if he wasted 3 hours of tailgating for that game. Way off base. The tailgating was easily the highlight of the day. I don't see how anyone could have endured the game without it.

22.) Profoundly disappointing crowd. 10k shorter than it should have been. Funny - I received a bunch of info on Zips tickets in the mail yesterday...after I'd already left for the Syracuse game. Little tardy on the mailing, guys.

23.) Lots of complaints on the parking and prices. It will continue as long as 29-3 beat-downs are the norm. Actually, it will eventually stop, because people will stop caring, and spend there money elsewhere.

24.) Bailey did a nice job at FB. I think he'll be a good one.

25.) Met Aaron and Dreal. Always a treat to meet new ZN members. Texan Mark didn't stop by. Hope he had a good time in the AK.

26.) I saw enough good things, especially defensively, to keep me coming back. I think the offensive penalties are easily correctable. I think we played a BCS team who's better than many think, and they kicked our butts because we couldn't move the ball offensively. I am very concerned with the o-line. Especially #75. I am very concerned about our WR's. I hope Frisman Jackson can coach, because we can't have a successful season with the WR group not getting a hell of a lot better, and soon.

Off to enjoy my Sunday. Too nice a day to mope over the Zips.

[Zipmeister]

Two questions:

1. (item 23) How are parking prices related to the point spread?

2. (item 25) Was Dreal in his kangaroo suit as promised?

[GP1]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

[skip-zip]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

[GP1]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

Charlie took a way worse beat down his first game against a BCS team as a Senior with a new coach than PN took yesterday as a sophomore.

[Zipgrad01]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

Charlie took a way worse beat down his first game against a BCS team as a Senior with a new coach than PN took yesterday as a sophomore.

The middle of our OL is terrible. We ran far too many 5 and 7 step drops. By the time Nicely made his drop he was running in circles for his life. The only time he looked comfortable was out of the gun or when the coach was smart enough to go to a 3 step drop and get the ball out.

Our receivers are pathetic.

Our safeties are horrible. That being said, our best safety is playing wr. It is time to end the Jalil Carter project. Move him back to safety and get Sconiers or Russell in the game at receiver. Why wait until the season is half over before they blow their redshirt because it is going to have to happen if we want to score.

Our running backs are terrible. They are small and slow.

There was a huge speed difference. Not one of our guys could get to the edge on any plays.

Brian Wagner is an absolute beast.

[skip-zip]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

Charlie took a way worse beat down his first game against a BCS team as a Senior with a new coach than PN took yesterday as a sophomore.

I know you like to bash Charlie, but are you really seriously trying to equate Charlie's 29 of 36 performance for well over 200 yards against Penn State with what we saw from our QB last night against a low-level BCS team?

[InTheZone]

No offense Cap, but your defenses of Nicely are starting to be slightly absurd. Granted, it was his first game in a new system and he should be given more time, but from what I've seen so far, the kid is awful. He may be the best we have, but he's still awful.

[InTheZone]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

[Dave in Green]

..... I am very concerned with the o-line. .....

Nice detailed analysis, Captain. It was interesting as always to talk with you in the tailgate lot. I think I mentioned my concern to you before the game that the Zips needed a decent performance by the o-line to get the offense going, and we obviously saw they didn't get the job done. It wasn't all the fault of the o-line. No one on offense had a great game. But the o-line is key to protecting the QB and opening holes for the RBs, as the Zips do not have a scrambling QB or runners capable of consistently getting through the line on their own. When you don't have outstanding players who can carry the offense, the only way to score points is with good teamwork -- everyone playing together to the best of their abilities. The coaching staff has to find a way to bring out the best in all their offensive players.

I owe you two beers now!

[liljc]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Wrong, wrong wrong.

Wow, I don't feel that excuses are being made for our Qb. I think what was mentioned about Nicely by CK was correctly stated and it was correctly observed. The poor kid was on the run from the time he took the snap on virtually every play. The OL play was horrific. The wideouts were blanketed. These statements are not an excuse for the QB, they are an absolute fact. Nicely had a FAR from perfect night, but his ability to realize that no receiver was open and that the only option was to throw the ball away is a positive NOT a negative. He missed a few throws, he made a few throws, but mostly he threw the ball away and tried to live to see another down. It sucked to watch it all night long, but most of the time it was the way it had to be.

The penalties for illegal formation, the dropped balls, the fg attempt that would have gotten us to 11 down, the inability of the receivers to stretch the field and the play calling are all points that drove me to the brink of madness. I am sure there were many other moments that I have mercifully forgotten.

There is no place to go but up from here. I hope and pray the Ianello can reach these guys and that his plan comes together. He is not off to a very good start and I imagine we will know the answer sooner rather than later.

h

[GP1]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

19 D-1A wins in four seasons. Enough said....

[GP1]

Again, I didn't see the game yesterday. When I see this many excuses being made for a QB, it takes me back to the Frye days. Four years of waiting to win something, then nothing happened.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

Charlie took a way worse beat down his first game against a BCS team as a Senior with a new coach than PN took yesterday as a sophomore.

I know you like to bash Charlie, but are you really seriously trying to equate Charlie's 29 of 36 performance for well over 200 yards against Penn State with what we saw from our QB last night against a low-level BCS team?

Wow! Less than six yards per attempt. Excuse me while I swoon at the greatness.

[TexanMark]

More than 500 Cuse fans...not sure where Joe S. was coming from when he said 3-5k to me a few weeks ago. We were very solid in Sections 105-109...u figure 600-700 a section I guess...so I think we were north of 1500 easily.

Overall a great time at Akron...I'll post more later.

[InTheZone]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

19 D-1A wins in four seasons. Enough said....

Sadly, that's more wins than any other 4 year period in our 1-A history, and that was with some of the worst defenses in the country. Are we really to say it's the QB's fault when he throws for 350+ and we still lose? That happened multiple times in the Frye era. There's not many on this board who would say Frye isn't the best QB in our history, and I know there's nobody on this board who wouldn't love to have him under center now.

But let's not make this another GP1 vs. Zipsnation Frye debate. Let's stick to the topic at hand. Regardless of whether Frye sucked, Nicely certainly does. And with our offensive line playing like a bunch sixth grade ballerinas, I don't see much hope for establishing a running game to build our offense around. Pretty grim prospects for '10 if you ask me. The only comfort I take is that the rest of the MAC sucks as bad as we do, so if RI has any coaching ability whatsoever, we should be able to swing 6 wins.

[johnnyzip84]

1.) Nicely did about as good as any QB could expect to do, with almost zero protection from his offensive line. The OL continued it's regression of 2009.

2.) Nicely's biggest mistake of the night was throwing a ball into the stands on 3rd and 3... when he esily could have ran for 5 yards. It would have been a BIG 1st down.

3.) At WR, the Zips have Jeremy LaFrance, and no one else. Jalil Carter looked lost, and Gary Pride couldn't shake his man to save his life.

4.) When watching a bad QB, there are multiple times during the game when, after the QB runs around for a while eluding the rush, you say "Jesus... there were 2 guys wide open!!! How the hell didn't he see them??!!" I don't think that happened once last night. Our receivers were covered like blankets all night. Nicely's decisions to ditch the ball were usually the right ones.

5.) I don't think I ever saw a receiver break off his route to help Nicely, as he ran for his life, either.

6.) I thought Alex Allen looked ok. Better than in 2009 for certain. But he only got 7 carries. He needs more than 7 carries.

7.) Burney is a tough little kid, but he's small, and a good lick from a DL sends him flying. We need another RB in our rotation.

8.) One of the worst calls of the night was sending Burney up the middle on 3rd and 1. AA easily gets that yard. iCoach must not have witnessed "Metcalf up the Middle."

9.) Another terrible call was going for the FG on 4th and 2. iCoach showed zero confidence in his offense. He didn't play to win the game. You only get a BCS team at home on rare occasion...iCoach didn't coach like he wanted to make a statement. No aggressive play calls all night.

10.) I turned to my son on Igor's 1st kick and said "Watch it hit the center in the butt." I was 1 kick too early on my call.

11.) How many low liners does Igor need to kick before someone realizes that's all he can do? Our chance of AA getting those 2 yards was WAY better than Igor making theFG.

12.) Campbell had some beautiful punts. And no horrific ones. Best punting I've seen in some time. Certainly since the Stec Ohio State game.

13.) Illegal formation penalties were inexcusable. Hard to fathom how we could be so unprepared.

14.) This Syracuse team was a lot better than the bumbling, hapless crew we played 2 seasons ago. They aren't spectacular by any stretch, but they appeared well coached, and I liked their D-line.

15.) Syracuse brought 500 fans max. A nice showing, but no where near the rumored 5k.

16.) The Zips D-line played very well. They got good QB pressure for most of the night. Lemon had an excellent game.

17.) Wagner had an excellent game too. It is too bad our offense was so pathetic. The Zips D eventually wore out.

18.) Nice to see Delone Carter, and the other Syracuse RB's work for their yards. We saw no gamebreaking plays...no 50 yard TD runs...no man-amongst-boys plays that made the Zips D look like a Pop Warner group. Overall, our D played fine.

19.) Province had a rough game. But at least the 2nd time he got beat he was smart enough to interfere and take the 15 yards, rather than risk a 40 yard catch.

20.) When we had a guy run a deep route, we threw into quadruple coverage. When Syracuse threw deep, we never had 2 DB's in the vicinity.

21.) GP1 mentioned that he'd be pissed if he wasted 3 hours of tailgating for that game. Way off base. The tailgating was easily the highlight of the day. I don't see how anyone could have endured the game without it.

22.) Profoundly disappointing crowd. 10k shorter than it should have been. Funny - I received a bunch of info on Zips tickets in the mail yesterday...after I'd already left for the Syracuse game. Little tardy on the mailing, guys.

23.) Lots of complaints on the parking and prices. It will continue as long as 29-3 beat-downs are the norm. Actually, it will eventually stop, because people will stop caring, and spend there money elsewhere.

24.) Bailey did a nice job at FB. I think he'll be a good one.

25.) Met Aaron and Dreal. Always a treat to meet new ZN members. Texan Mark didn't stop by. Hope he had a good time in the AK.

26.) I saw enough good things, especially defensively, to keep me coming back. I think the offensive penalties are easily correctable. I think we played a BCS team who's better than many think, and they kicked our butts because we couldn't move the ball offensively. I am very concerned with the o-line. Especially #75. I am very concerned about our WR's. I hope Frisman Jackson can coach, because we can't have a successful season with the WR group not getting a hell of a lot better, and soon.

Off to enjoy my Sunday. Too nice a day to mope over the Zips.

Regarding #1 and #2, the attrocious play of the O-line (has there ever been a unit at UA that has as steadily digressed as this one has from the end of the 2008 season until now?) no doubt hampered Nicely from getting into any sort of rhythm. The really frustrating thing to me is that we were often keeping one or two TEs and a fullback in for added protection, and they were STILL able to get through. On these occasions, this left only a 2 or 3 receivers downfield making it pitifully easy for the Orange DBs to lock them down. Still I do think he also held onto the ball too long a number if times. Now I also happen to think Syracuse's D-line is quite good. The pressure they brought seemed to bother PN7, even on the few plays where he had adequate time. I'd say that besides accuracy, he probably could use some improvement in the area of mental toughness (I can hear the Denison era "MTXE" - mental toughness extra effort - mantra as I type this). Hopefully Powlus etc can work on this.

Regarding #3 to #5, I think the play calling didn't help in this area. It was the 3rd quarter before the staff FINALLY called a screen pass to Burney to try to keep the Orange honest. And the lack of throwing to the TE's has already been pointed out. The passing attack seemed to be pure vanilla, when it called for a little spumoni, neapolitan, rocky road, and rainbow sherbet.

Regarding #14, I just love it how some posters are assuming that the 2010 Syracuse team will be just like the ones from recent years past. As if the world of college football doesn't change from year to year, particularly when a coaching change has recently been made. The Orange closed 2009 strong. Their coach helped develop one of the most successful offenses ever seen in the NFL. The only question was whether he could recruit or not. Well IMHO, forget the blasted Scout and Rivals rankings, the new players for the Orange this year are VERY good. The O-line is big and physical. The D-line is athletic. That true FR linebacker Spruill is OUTSTANDING. I'm not saying there ready to win the Big East, but this year's team will win at least 6 games and spring some upsets along the way.

Regarding #16 to #18, I keep thinking "what if" JD had ever given in to a 4-3 defense, especially with the personel that we have now. I know the safeties had some trouble and there is room for improvement but I REALLY enjoyed watching this defense run to the ball and makes plays. I see NO reason not to expect them to continue to play well through 2010. If the offense can improve at all the defensive yards allowed will reduce significantly. Go to any board where Orange fans are present. Most were quite impressed by Akron's front 7.

Regarding #21 and #25, I agree 100%. I thoroughly enjoyed the pre-game festivities in Lot 9. Thanks to Zipswin and CK for making me and my party feel right at home. I got to meet Brian Wagner's family and really enjoyed them. It was a Dreal treat to finally meet Dreal and his family as well. Note to the Meister, Dreal told me the Zippy costume comment was just him pulling one over on the Meister. We hope to have as much fun for Gardner Webb

[Aaron]

It's kind of atrocious that NO MAC TEAM HAD A 1-A WIN this week. I suppose the upside is that Temple managed to hold off Villanova this year... another MAC 1-AA loss would not be a good thing.

The only MAC team I saw coverage of that impressed me was Miami - but then again, maybe Florida is just that bad this year.

I would have been much happier with this game if our offense had managed to find the endzone. The defense is a few 'hands drills' away from pulling in multiple interceptions. I like this 4-3, it did what it was supposed to. Hopefully next game the defense will be anticipating their success and ready to make the big plays. Literally 6 catchable Syracuse passes went into the hands of our defenders, and they only came away with one INT. I look forward to that number increasing as the season goes on.

Our special teams really turned the game around... in Syracuse's favor. That botched fg was the dagger to the heart of our game chances, and there is no excuse for how badly that play went. Down 17-6 with a little momentum, and I think we could have made it a game. Instead, we go down 23-3 and the zips were defeated right then and there.

It was hard for me to tell if our offense was atrocious, or if Syracuse's defense was just THAT good. Not enough run plays, don't recall seeing a single option play run by the zips. When we're down 20 points late in the 4th qtr, why wasn't Rodgers playing? He couldn't have done much worse, and with as much blitz as Syracuse was running (and as much as our o-line was run over), I kept fearing Nicely would be injured. Call it the 'usual Akron luck'.

Anyway, it was good to visit with you CK. I haven't missed a Zips home game since '97, so I'll be sure to visit you guys for pre-gaming more often now that I know who to look for. It'll be nice to get the horrible taste of this game (and some answers about the offense) next week against G-W. If all our scoring comes from defense next week, it'll be a VERY long season.

[Captain Kangaroo]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

Since you asked - "Yes."

In fact, wasn't it JD Brookhart's 1st season?

Box Score

I believe the immortal Charlie Frye threw for all of 78 yards (w/ a44% completion percentage), and a gaudy -38 yards on the ground? And with a hell of a lot better receivers than Nicely had on Saturday night, and with a veteran offensive line.

The Frye & Nicely UVA/Syracuse games are eerily similar, in both circumstance and results: BCS game...first season under a new coach and system...beatdown

It looks like Nicely actually performed better, since he threw the ball away (-4 rushing yards) instead of eating it like Charlie (-38 rushing yards).

Oh, and Nicely - True Soph.

Frye - 5th year Senior.

They say "The only thing new is the history you don't know." You are all welcome for the hyperbole-free perspective, and the history lesson.

People see what they want to see. I tend to see what actually happened. The book on Nicely is far from it's completion. This week he should throw for 300+ yards, and everyone will marvel at his arm strength, and his growth from game #1 to game #2. Then we'll lose at K.entucky, and everyone will clamor to see the hobbled, banjo-armed Matt Rodgers save the season. Which ain't gonna happen.

Stick with Nicely, and you shall be rewarded.

[Big Zip]

CK we are on opposite sides of the Nicely equation. I am not nearly as high on him as you are. I saw the same game you did and I saw him sail passes over guys heads when they were open, I saw him not tuck it and run when he should have, I saw him have one perfectly thrown ball dropped by Jalil Carter over the middle that was most likely dropped because he threw it to Jalil right before he may have been killed, I saw him miss by 10 yards a wide open Gary Pride, I saw him throw the ball long every time throwing into multiple coverage, I saw him throw a few completions that were made by our receivers with one hand because they were so poorly thrown, I also saw a few come back throws that weren't made until the receiver had come completely out of his hook and was coming back instead of throwing them before they turned.

I also saw him look extremely uncomfortable....running around when rushed, I saw him throw the ball away instead of taking a sack, I even saw a few nice passes.

I saw more bad from him than good Saturday night. I appreciate your glass half full attitude regarding Nicely and I'm hopeful you're right. I will still be surprised if he throws for 300 yards this week.

[GP1]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

Since you asked - "Yes."

In fact, wasn't it JD Brookhart's 1st season?

Box Score

I believe the immortal Charlie Frye threw for all of 78 yards (w/ a44% completion percentage), and a gaudy -38 yards on the ground? And with a hell of a lot better receivers than Nicely had on Saturday night, and with a veteran offensive line.

The Frye & Nicely UVA/Syracuse games are eerily similar, in both circumstance and results: BCS game...first season under a new coach and system...beatdown

It looks like Nicely actually performed better, since he threw the ball away (-4 rushing yards) instead of eating it like Charlie (-38 rushing yards).

Oh, and Nicely - True Soph.

Frye - 5th year Senior.

They say "The only thing new is the history you don't know." You are all welcome for the hyperbole-free perspective, and the history lesson.

People see what they want to see. I tend to see what actually happened. The book on Nicely is far from it's completion. This week he should throw for 300+ yards, and everyone will marvel at his arm strength, and his growth from game #1 to game #2. Then we'll lose at K.entucky, and everyone will clamor to see the hobbled, banjo-armed Matt Rodgers save the season. Which ain't gonna happen.

Stick with Nicely, and you shall be rewarded.

Great post. As a point of fact, I didn't need the history lesson to know what I knew years ago.

I do think we should hang in with PN. With that said, his performance needs to improve. He is a Soph and between his fresh and soph years he should make the biggest improvement. We need more than 33% completions and 111 yards. He calls himself the leader of the team....that's great....now lead and compete some passes under very difficult circumstances.

Now let's go eat a damn snack!

[gozips19]

great posts guys!

maybe i didn't see it in this thread but the drop by carter was huge! 30-40 yard gain for sure and maybe could have gone for 6.

said this during the scrimmage but bowers has the most talent at rb. he needs to get in the rotation.

does anyone know when paul simkovich will return? the guard play was beyond words.

not to pick on jared province but sheldon miller should be seeing more time even if he's a true frosh.

anyone know when gilmer will return? little looked lost and soft. gilmer in at olb will make the front seven even better.

the d makes me optimistic for the season but the o line needs to turn things around quickly

cooking breakfast for the game this week. ready to see a beat down and better play from the zips!

[ZachTheZip]

maybe i didn't see it in this thread but the drop by carter was huge! 30-40 yard gain for sure and maybe could have gone for 6.

said this during the scrimmage but bowers has the most talent at rb. he needs to get in the rotation.

does anyone know when paul simkovich will return? the guard play was beyond words.

not to pick on jared province but sheldon miller should be seeing more time even if he's a true frosh.

anyone know when gilmer will return? little looked lost and soft. gilmer in at olb will make the front seven even better.

the d makes me optimistic for the season but the o line needs to turn things around quickly

You're right that we were missing a lot of guys at key positions.

I think the coach might be reluctant to play so many freshmen, but if they really are the best option, you need to go with them instead of hanging on to ineffective returning players.

If they were held out as a precaution, I would imagine they would return next week when the chance to get injured is much less.

[Zips Win!]

The more things change with UA football, the more they stay the same…

The good-

Tailgating was fun….One should make the party the highlight of the day with a football game thrown in…I wouldn’t be able to make it through otherwise.

Brian Wagner. What an athletic player!! He simply makes a ton of plays.. Three more years of this guy will be something to look forward to.

An attacking defense. I was impressed with the overall pressure we placed on SU’s offense. I hope this too is something to look forward to. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough help in the secondary to finish the deal on many occasions.

Several true freshman getting a chance..

The bad-

Just about everything else…Where and when does it end?

The dropped interception at the five started it off…Hit the DB in the wrong spot…his hands. As predicted, one play later SU throws a TD pass.

Is SU’s defensive front that good or is the O-line that bad?

Sorry, I’ve seen enough of Alex Allen and Nate Burney. I believe I saw Bowers in on special teams. He needs a chance to tote the ball, although I did see him leave the field.. Is he injured?

I hope we have more receivers as well. Someone else needs a shot…

I witnessed on Saturday exactly the same offensive execution or lack thereof that I saw at the spring game…Now I see why practices are closed to Zips fans…

Formation penalties! Please…

Wasting time-outs in the second half!! Please

Botched special teams plays (FG) that give away points.

The Ugly-

Complaining about ticket prices!! Enough! $20 was a reasonable price to charge for a ticket vs. SU. Sorry. While disappointed with the attendance, there were more folks there than I expected. The day of free tickets needs to end. While I agree that $10 to park for GA parking is excessive, $20 bucks for a game is not. I am not in the camp to just let folks in with no monetary gain for UA down the road. While I hoped for more fans, I am not in the camp of getting in another 10K if they are free tickets.

Should we market it better and have specials, like a buy one at full price-SU, get GW for ½ off, of course..but free has to end.

Faust to Owens to Brookhart and now iCoach, error-plagued Zips football continues. I hope we shore up these mistakes or it will be another long year. At least we didn’t have a crippling personal foul call on a third down stop resulting in a SU score…

Here’s hoping for a better result next Saturday.

[GP1]

Just about everything else…Where and when does it end?

The dropped interception at the five started it off…Hit the DB in the wrong spot…his hands. As predicted, one play later SU throws a TD pass.

I agree completely. Losing programs find ways to lose. It is up to the players to start playing. The coaches can't continually be blamed for the lack of execution from an adult with a full scholarship to play football. Tough shit to anyone who thinks I'm being too harsh on a "college kid". They are grown men for crying out loud. It's time to break the cycle and that is up to the players themselves. They need to get off of their asses and get it done.

Did I say something about a snack?

[InTheZone]

And GP, the day Nicely throws for 3600 yards in a season, or the day a BCS coach says that Nicely is the best QB his team will see all season, then we'll start some comparisons. Until then, your comments look slightly foolish. Was a Charlie Frye led offense ever kept out of the endzone for entire game??

Since you asked - "Yes."

In fact, wasn't it JD Brookhart's 1st season?

Box Score

I believe the immortal Charlie Frye threw for all of 78 yards (w/ a44% completion percentage), and a gaudy -38 yards on the ground? And with a hell of a lot better receivers than Nicely had on Saturday night, and with a veteran offensive line.

The Frye & Nicely UVA/Syracuse games are eerily similar, in both circumstance and results: BCS game...first season under a new coach and system...beatdown

It looks like Nicely actually performed better, since he threw the ball away (-4 rushing yards) instead of eating it like Charlie (-38 rushing yards).

Oh, and Nicely - True Soph.

Frye - 5th year Senior.

They say "The only thing new is the history you don't know." You are all welcome for the hyperbole-free perspective, and the history lesson.

People see what they want to see. I tend to see what actually happened. The book on Nicely is far from it's completion. This week he should throw for 300+ yards, and everyone will marvel at his arm strength, and his growth from game #1 to game #2. Then we'll lose at K.entucky, and everyone will clamor to see the hobbled, banjo-armed Matt Rodgers save the season. Which ain't gonna happen.

Stick with Nicely, and you shall be rewarded.

You want to compare 2004 Virginia, one of the BEST DEFENSES IN THE NATION, led by Ahmad Brooks and Chris Canty, to Syracuse???? There were about 8 draft picks on that Virginia defense. The Syracuse team we played yesterday would be lucky to have one!!! Apples to oranges Cap, you know better!!

Here's a better comparison. Charlie Frye's sophomore year season opener. On the road. Against a GOOD Iowa team.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores102/1...WA------0nr.htm

21-29 for 230 yards. If Patrick Nicely had done that Saturday, I would like where we're going. Instead he laid an egg against a team that's a lot more akin to upper level MAC than a good BCS team.