Game 12 - Akron at Toledo

[TrippleZip]

Don't lose faith. We can still win this game. Remember Terry promised 2 wins.

[LZIp]

Watching Akron football is just like watching the Browns. A slow, painful, and inevitable death.

[akzipper]

What did Buster Skrine do wrong on that play?

Don't see Toledo's idiot coach throwing a temper tantrum now

[zipsfan33]

And that should seal it... Nice debut (basically) KP16

[LZIp]

Really not a fan of the second half play calling at all. Same story as the whole season, though.

I'll give our staff a pass this year to get re acclimated to coaching D1 ball. I expect big improvement next year.

[bigzipguy]

That first and goal at the 2, down by 4, and get NO POINTS, THE WORST PART BEING THAT STUPID GAMBLE, CHANGED THE WHOLE MOMENTUM AND WIPED OUT WHATEVER SMALL CHANCE WE HAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zipsfan33]

Yeah that really seemed to be the beginning of the end.

[GP1]

Glad to see a Zips QB tuck the ball and gain yards.

[Dr Z]

Glad to see a Zips QB tuck the ball and gain yards.

I wish it changed the outcome. At the very least they covered (for me), and we have a QB with a big arm for some years. Now build me a defense that can stop...no, that's asking a lot right now, SLOW down the run up the middle.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I wish it changed the outcome. At the very least they covered (for me), and we have a QB with a big arm for some years. Now build me a defense that can stop...no, that's asking a lot right now, SLOW down the run up the middle.

A defense that can play the run straight-up, and not have to sell out completely to stop the run-middle would be awesome. In text book run-middle situations, the swing pass outside absolutely kills us. We stack the middle 100% of the time.

[akronzips71]

We have finally been put out of our misery.

Now we can concentrate all our Zips energy on getting to the Dance.

[MaxZIP]

Glad to see a Zips QB tuck the ball and gain yards.

Too bad he is still green. He could have played all season and won the same number of games at least.

[GP1]

I wish it changed the outcome. At the very least they covered (for me), and we have a QB with a big arm for some years. Now build me a defense that can stop...no, that's asking a lot right now, SLOW down the run up the middle.

I agree. We just aren't getting enough disruption on running plays. If a guy can't get in the backfield, he at least needs to get off of a block and make a tackle at the line. Our guys are too easy to block one-on-one.

I too liked the play of the QB last night. 67% completion percentage is pretty darn good for a frosh in what was basically his first start. His accuracy was good for this stage in his career and on one TD he threw the ball where only the receiver could catch it. I wasn't overly impressed with his arm strength, but Joe Montana didn't have much arm strength either. Joe Montana ran just enough to make the defenses respect it and it opened up the field so his accuracy became his greatest weapon. I like what I saw last night and I'm not sure what his starting an entire season would have taught him other than how to lose 11 games....That's not a valuable lesson. In fact, that lesson can destroy a player. I think TB played the QB situation well. I'm sure next year if the QB stumbles in the first game of the season, there will be those who state the unknown and something that can never be proved, "If TB would have stated him in 2012, he wouldn't have these problems." They probably have something typed and saved on a Word Document already.

[Blue & Gold]

Glad to see a Zips QB tuck the ball and gain yards.

Yes!

He doesn't need to be Mike Vick; just pose a threat to scramble for 4-5. Keep the LB's honest.

KP16 also has the ability to throw the deep ball (unlike DW) & thus stretch the field with his arm.

Both those factors should help loosen up defenses next season.

KP16 looked good!

[Blue & Gold]

I'm not sure what his starting an entire season would have taught him other than how to lose 11 games....That's not a valuable lesson. In fact, that lesson can destroy a player. I think TB played the QB situation well.

Good point.

[Hilltopper]

I thought Pohl looked good. What I liked was his quick release of the ball. Very little wasted motion. I was also impressed with his willingness to use his legs to move the chains.

[Dr Z]

I was also impressed with his willingness to use his legs to move the chains.

I have to evaluate that from the stands to see what the situation is when he is bailing. I'm not celebrating the fact of him leaving the pocket until I get a look at the coverage. Many times QB's get comfortable pulling the ball down and running instead of making the proper read and trusting their ability. I'm not saying that is the case, but you can't judge this from a TV broadcast. I probably won't get to see the coaches film of this one. All in all, it was a successful debut for the youngster. I hope he works hard this offseason.

[Hilltopper]

I have to evaluate that from the stands to see what the situation is when he is bailing. I'm not celebrating the fact of him leaving the pocket until I get a look at the coverage. Many times QB's get comfortable pulling the ball down and running instead of making the proper read and trusting their ability. I'm not saying that is the case, but you can't judge this from a TV broadcast. I probably won't get to see the coaches film of this one. All in all, it was a successful debut for the youngster. I hope he works hard this offseason.

It looked to me like all he did was take what the defense was giving him. Similar to what the Miami QB did to us earlier this season. If he shows that he is capable of getting good yardage, it will force the linebackers to play closer to the line of scrimmage opening up a seam in the middle of the field. Teams have been playing a lot of cover 2 and dropping their linebackers deeper because they knew DW wasn't going anywhere.

[GP1]

I was also impressed with his willingness to use his legs to move the chains.

I have a little different slant. I like when a QB moves and finds an open receiver. Roethlisberger does this as well as any QB ever. As a tool of last resort, he can gain positive yardage to keep the offense "on schedule". It's like the hybrid club gofers keep in their bag. Can't use it on every shot or hole, but it sure does come in handy at times.

If the defense breaks down the play, break down the defense with some movement. If the movement isn't successful, get some positive yards. Plays are too valuable to not explore every opportunity. Extend plays, open opportunity.

[johnnyzip84]

Here are some of my thoughts:

1) Toledo's D-Line, while reportedly banged up, really gave our O-Line fits for much of the game, especially the 2nd half. It's a good thing KP16 played most of the downs, because DW13 probably would have been sacked a number of times. We didn't have much running room the entire game. UT obviously has some talent and depth in their front 7. Their secondary isn't so strong, but KP16 was either hurried or didn't quite have the timing down on several deep balls to take full advantage.

2) GP1, having seen KP16's arm in person under live fire, I'm not sure I agree with the arm strength comment. I don't know if I'd call it a cannon, but it's certainly MORE THAN strong enough for this offense. Several times I noticed recievers coming out of their cuts and they'd either drop the pass or bobble it because (presumably on my part) they weren't used to the velocity. You could definitely hear the ball pop in there on several occasions. He needs to work on putting some air under the deep balls and taking something off of the swing passes, but all-in-all he completely answered my questions about QB play next year. I believe the Cap'n is correct: they want to bring in another QB strictly for a quality backup. I agree it's hard to tell whether he pulls it down too quickly or not, but I will say that he does seem to have a "feel" for the rush. Many young QBs would have been hit and fumbled at least once facing what he faced last night.

3) The fake FG had approximately 0.0000000001% chance of success.

4) I felt like the staff was also trying to get meaningful PT for other freshmen as well, and I agree with many who fell they could have been doing a better job of that all along. But hindsight is 20-20, and I think they were so focused on hopefully picking up a few wins they let that goal cloud the longer term goals.

5) It's been a long time since this staff has had to coach a team whose talent is generally inferior to their opponents. I would not discount the ability of this staff to improve through self evaluation in the off-season. I think the coaches know they also could have performed better (particularly after HT) regardless of the depth issues on both sodes of the ball, and I'm willing to bet they'll make some changes for the better now that they have a better handle on what it's going to take to win in the MAC.

6) If we can shore up the defense and add quality depth to both lines, I believe the other areas will be fine and we'll win at least a few in 2013.

ps. The Glass Bowl just might be the perfect MAC stadium (although a few of their fans got a little whiny last night....the ones near the 50-yard line, NOT the UA/UT grad or the friendly couple we sat next to at the scoreboard end in the 1st half). It's just the right size, has some really interesting architecture, and sits in a beautiful spot on campus. Honestly, I have no idea why C-USA hasn't invited UT by now.

[skip-zip]

If it hasn't been mentioned yet.........................

The two bogus pass interference calls on us in the end zone on the same drive, followed by a horrible TD catch that wasn't overturned, is another infuriating chapter in the book of MAC officiating.

They don't like Akron, and I don't know why.

[Dr Z]

5) It's been a long time since this staff has had to coach a team whose talent is generally inferior to their opponents. I would not discount the ability of this staff to improve through self evaluation in the off-season. I think the coaches know they also could have performed better (particularly after HT) regardless of the depth issues on both sodes of the ball, and I'm willing to bet they'll make some changes for the better now that they have a better handle on what it's going to take to win in the MAC.

I think the same. I hope it happens.

[GP1]

2) GP1, having seen KP16's arm in person under live fire, I'm not sure I agree with the arm strength comment. I don't know if I'd call it a cannon, but it's certainly MORE THAN strong enough for this offense. Several times I noticed recievers coming out of their cuts and they'd either drop the pass or bobble it because (presumably on my part) they weren't used to the velocity.

Let me clarify. I see it the way you do. He has a solid arm, but not a rocket launcher.

Receivers dropping passes could mean the receivers need to do a better job of catching. If watching MAC game after MAC game shows us anything, catching the ball escapes a lot of MAC receivers.

[you am i]

Here are some of my thoughts:

1) Toledo's D-Line, while reportedly banged up, really gave our O-Line fits for much of the game, especially the 2nd half. It's a good thing KP16 played most of the downs, because DW13 probably would have been sacked a number of times. We didn't have much running room the entire game. UT obviously has some talent and depth in their front 7. Their secondary isn't so strong, but KP16 was either hurried or didn't quite have the timing down on several deep balls to take full advantage.

2) GP1, having seen KP16's arm in person under live fire, I'm not sure I agree with the arm strength comment. I don't know if I'd call it a cannon, but it's certainly MORE THAN strong enough for this offense. Several times I noticed recievers coming out of their cuts and they'd either drop the pass or bobble it because (presumably on my part) they weren't used to the velocity. You could definitely hear the ball pop in there on several occasions. He needs to work on putting some air under the deep balls and taking something off of the swing passes, but all-in-all he completely answered my questions about QB play next year. I believe the Cap'n is correct: they want to bring in another QB strictly for a quality backup. I agree it's hard to tell whether he pulls it down too quickly or not, but I will say that he does seem to have a "feel" for the rush. Many young QBs would have been hit and fumbled at least once facing what he faced last night.

3) The fake FG had approximately 0.0000000001% chance of success.

4) I felt like the staff was also trying to get meaningful PT for other freshmen as well, and I agree with many who fell they could have been doing a better job of that all along. But hindsight is 20-20, and I think they were so focused on hopefully picking up a few wins they let that goal cloud the longer term goals.

5) It's been a long time since this staff has had to coach a team whose talent is generally inferior to their opponents. I would not discount the ability of this staff to improve through self evaluation in the off-season. I think the coaches know they also could have performed better (particularly after HT) regardless of the depth issues on both sodes of the ball, and I'm willing to bet they'll make some changes for the better now that they have a better handle on what it's going to take to win in the MAC.

6) If we can shore up the defense and add quality depth to both lines, I believe the other areas will be fine and we'll win at least a few in 2013.

ps. The Glass Bowl just might be the perfect MAC stadium (although a few of their fans got a little whiny last night....the ones near the 50-yard line, NOT the UA/UT grad or the friendly couple we sat next to at the scoreboard end in the 1st half). It's just the right size, has some really interesting architecture, and sits in a beautiful spot on campus. Honestly, I have no idea why C-USA hasn't invited UT by now.

Hi Johnny. I'm the guy that sat in front of you in the first half. I moved to the Toledo side for the second half. The game played out about the way I thought it would. Akron doesn't (yet) have the talent to go four quarters with the top MAC teams.

It was to the credit of the Akron players and the coaches that they came ready to play. When they jumped out to a lead, I know Toledo fans were worried. The last game of last season was a humiliating blowout at WMU where WMU took mercy and didn't run the score up into the 70s. The future looked hopeless under Ianello. I feel much different about the future of this team with Bowden in charge. I listened to his post-game comments and they were right on the money. Akron football is pointed in the right direction.

[johnnyzip84]

Hi Johnny. I'm the guy that sat in front of you in the first half. I moved to the Toledo side for the second half. The game played out about the way I thought it would. Akron doesn't (yet) have the talent to go four quarters with the top MAC teams.

It was to the credit of the Akron players and the coaches that they came ready to play. When they jumped out to a lead, I know Toledo fans were worried. The last game of last season was a humiliating blowout at WMU where WMU took mercy and didn't run the score up into the 70s. The future looked hopeless under Ianello. I feel much different about the future of this team with Bowden in charge. I listened to his post-game comments and they were right on the money. Akron football is pointed in the right direction.

Hello you am i! I enjoyed talking with you during the 1st half, and I agree with you 100% regarding how the game played out and the direction of the program. We moved to near the 50 yard line after HT and that is where we heard a lot of whining. To be fair, the late hit calls were questionable (although I felt some other calls later went UT's way to even things out). I've stated many times on here that the UT football program is a great model for the UA football program. I sure hope the Zips can eventually have the sustained success UT has generally had over the years. Hope to see you at the Info sometime!