Observations from afar.........

[Z-P]

I hate that we weren't able to go last nite, but like many other solid supporters, we spent the entire last quarter standing in front of our TV's..............

I feel "mellow" today. That was just nice.

Coaching did it. Period.

This group of athletes is no more talented than any class over the past 6 or 7 years. The difference is coaching. That's not a knock on the old staff, or on this group of BIG HEARTED PLAYERS, it's just a tip of the hat to these guys who are more "well armed" to do the job from whistle to whistle. Our Coaches.

I'm especially blown away by the defensive coaching. These guys are running a Pro Style Defense with directional rush tactics, linebacker "scraping" and corner/safety filling. I'm blown away.

If we would have had this defense 2 years back, no telling what would have resulted.

That's all.

You all are the greatest. To those of you who went, big ups. You represented us on TV like a mutha. I was soooooooo proud of you.

Down here, the USF coach just reupped for 5 years and he was the leading candidate for the Kansas State job. With the midwest connections our guys have (meaning you know who), heads up on our guys.........they got themselves some real cred last nite on national TV.

One last thing: UAM for AD see ya'll the 26th in Motown.

[ZipDude]

The Padre weighs in.

You my friend are 150% correct in your observations relating to talent. Its all about the coaching. You are as always right again that if we could have had some percentage of this defensive strategy in the last 5 years, there is no question that things might have been different.

Have a nice time in the warmth of sunny Fla , its a cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra up here.

[GP1]

There is no doubt that coaching is playing a huge role in the success of this program. I can only think of one time in the past two years when I think the Zips were out coached, and that was the CMU game this season. Other than that, the team has come to each game with a good plan to win the game. Sure, there has been some bad play calling at times, but that happens everywhere. On the whole, the coaches are doing a great job.

It's been the little things the coaches do to move the program forward. If you look at the discipline of the players and coaches on the sidelines, it is impressive. That discipline resulted in Akron not having to use any time outs early in the second half of the game because the right players were not in the game or the coaches were indecisive. Without those three time outs, the Zips do not win Thursday.

Watch Jim Flemming when the offensive is on the field. He is engaged with the players listening to what they have to say and then he works through all of their problems with them. I've never seen him up close on the sidelines, but he appears to be a real good teacher. He certainly had the defense ready to hold NIU to three and out at the end on a night when no defensive player really played all that well and Wolfe ran all over us the entire night up until that point.

I've mentioned before that this staff reminds me a lot of the young coaches Faust brought here. Most of those guys are now at really big programs and have made good names for themselves. At the time though, they were young coaches looking to move up the coaching ladder. I would guess that at the end of this season, at least two coaches leave Akron to go to bigger programs that pay better. These guys all have families and they have an obligation to make more money to support their family. JD has the same obligation, but nobody is going to hire a coach from the MAC that went 6-5 during the regular season.

The key is going to be replacing them with good coaches, which will not be a problem because the team is winning and a lot of quality young coaches will want to hitch their wagon to JD hoping that when he moves on, they will be taken with him. Don't get down if a couple of coaches leave. It is a natural evolution in the coaching profession when a mid major team is doing well. Embrace the changes and be comforted by the knowledge that the most reasonable predictor of future behavior is past behavior. JD hired good coaches the first time, he can hire good coaches in the future. Keep trusting in JD guys, he knows what he is doing.

Enjoy the Holiday Season. This is a great time to be a Zips fan.

[niu007]

Can't speak for your other games, but it does look like NIU definitely got out-coached in the MACC. I think NIU wins without that, although the complete lack of a pass rush by was critical too, and that was simply good blocking. I think you guys do have more talent on defense than NIU currently does. Anyway, you guys will be tough to beat in the future too.