johnnyzip84 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Why do I feel like I'm being set up? Ill bite, yes. I think this is a pretty obvious though, right? OK, I telegraphed that like a Mike Junko pass over the middle I guess my point is I don't think we needed a more difficult (even ever so slightly) schedule at this point in TB's tenure. I'll bet he's not too happy, deep down, that he's facing what is very likely to be the three best teams in the MAC West next year. He knows that at some point, the wins need to come no matter how good a coach he is or how good a staff he has assembled. I know the following statement, while true, is perhaps somewhat misleading. The 2013 Zips will be facing NINE bowl teams from the 2012 season. I would have like to see this number be seven or eight instead, just to increase the chances of getting some momentum going in this football progrum. One last thought I have is I can understand, in a way, why the MAC is doing this. After all, it worked wonders for the perception of the league in 2012, and many of the key players are returning in 2013. I just hope that, if and when the Zips do turn this thing around, the MAC will give UA the same scheduling benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipgrad01 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 OK, I telegraphed that like a Mike Junko pass over the middle I guess my point is I don't think we needed a more difficult (even ever so slightly) schedule at this point in TB's tenure. I'll bet he's not too happy, deep down, that he's facing what is very likely to be the three best teams in the MAC West next year. He knows that at some point, the wins need to come no matter how good a coach he is or how good a staff he has assembled. I know the following statement, while true, is perhaps somewhat misleading. The 2013 Zips will be facing NINE bowl teams from the 2012 season. I would have like to see this number be seven or eight instead, just to increase the chances of getting some momentum going in this football progrum. One last thought I have is I can understand, in a way, why the MAC is doing this. After all, it worked wonders for the perception of the league in 2012, and many of the key players are returning in 2013. I just hope that, if and when the Zips do turn this thing around, the MAC will give UA the same scheduling benefits. I wouldnt be surprised if the MAC doesn't really want Akron to get that much better in football being that we are one of the few schools that have the facilities, enrollment and population necessary to move on to a bigger conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Adams Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 No problem with the schedule. Shoot everybody thought UMASS was going to be a cupcake coming in here last year. That didn't work out well. Still don't understand though why teams don't play every team in its own division every year then fill in the conference schedule from the other division. Would seem logical for competitive and rivalry reasons. But,until you can compete with and beat the best teams..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 But,until you can compete with and beat the best teams..... I agree completely. Next year could really be an unknown year for the MAC in an unpredictable way. That's when a team like Akron has to make a jump. The bottom line is this. If we don't win at least four games next year, we are still in the "horrible" range of teams for the league. It would be our fourth year in a row in the horrible range with two different coaches. Something has to break for this program next season. Winning has to start taking place in a serious manner. By serious, I mean some wins against programs with a pulse. Another year of sub 4 wins, and the recruiting gets that much more difficult so the long term prospects for winning become even more difficult. One of the lies of the "building process" is it is OK to suck for a while as a program is slowly built. Good things tend to happen around good things happening. Good things don't normally happen around bad things. Winning is good. Losing is bad. Winning results in more winning because it is something that can truly be built around. Winning is real. It's easier to continue to win when you are winning because a lot of pieces fall into place. Losing is something nobody can build around because it is a foundation of mud. Nothing falls into place and nothing can be supported for very long. That's why winning next year is so important. I hope everyone understands how important next year is. It isn't just year two of Bowden. Right now, it is four years of sucking with a potential for a fifth that really needs to be avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I fully understand just how important 2013 is and I am worried. Unless there are some guys from last year's greyshirts or from this small upcoming class that can step up and make a huge difference, we are in trouble. Big trouble. I hope I am wrong, but I am catching a bad vibe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 There isn't much to get excited about next years team. Is it possible to be worse? We are losing a lot of players, and not adding anything special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 There isn't much to get excited about next years team. Is it possible to be worse? We are losing a lot of players, and not adding anything special. Who are we losing of great value? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 There isn't much to get excited about next years team. Is it possible to be worse? We are losing a lot of players, and not adding anything special. I disagree wholeheartedly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Adams Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I fully understand just how important 2013 is and I am worried. Unless there are some guys from last year's greyshirts or from this small upcoming class that can step up and make a huge difference, we are in trouble. Big trouble. I hope I am wrong, but I am catching a bad vibe. Went back and looked at the game program from the UCF game in August. If I counted correctly there were 15 or so seniors listed there. I know there have been and will be some changes. That was a lot of Jr.s,Sophs and Frosh. Unfortunately some of the graduations were at some key/weak positions. QB,LB some O-line,some D-line. The program is still going to be counting on Ianello recruits and how TB can coach 'em up to be successful. We wil see if Ianello was any kind of recruiter. I think Pohl might be OK. But the defense didn't show much last season. I am not convinced that the right mix of staff and players are in place on that side of the ball. TB needs another year of bringing in JC's and transfers if this team is going to significantly improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Went back and looked at the game program from the UCF game in August. If I counted correctly there were 15 or so seniors listed there. I know there have been and will be some changes. That was a lot of Jr.s,Sophs and Frosh. Unfortunately some of the graduations were at some key/weak positions. QB,LB some O-line,some D-line. The program is still going to be counting on Ianello recruits and how TB can coach 'em up to be successful. We wil see if Ianello was any kind of recruiter. I think Pohl might be OK. But the defense didn't show much last season. I am not convinced that the right mix of staff and players are in place on that side of the ball. TB needs another year of bringing in JC's and transfers if this team is going to significantly improve. As I've stated ad nauseum, a lot also depends on how many of last year's "non-qualifiers" suit up for the Zips in 2013. Both lines stand to gain if some of these guys are available. I know the O-Line lost some key performers, but I'm still not overly concerned about the offense. The O-Line clearly benefits by TB's scheme. Plus, Tank seems to be as good of a position coach as we have on the team. I've seen enough of KP16 that, with the proven ability coming back at the other skill positions, we should move the ball and score plenty. If we're looking for hopeful spots on defense, I'd start with these guys: 1) Caponi - a high character guy who, although undersized in the interior, showed ability to play with a high motor in 2012 and should be only better in 2013 IF he can stay healthy. 2) Grice - I believe Cody could take BIG steps this year, considering he was playing a new collegiate position as a freshmen last year. 3) James - CSU Ram transfer will need to hopefully take the place of JD Griggs at one starting end spot 4) Presley - showed a big upside before injuries took him out of action. 5) Jamal Turner - assuming he can totally "buy in" (may be questionable, since he missed the Toledo game for unknown reasons), he definitely showed "one of a kind" skills on this side of the ball. The best news we might conceivably hear this off-season is that JT55 is hitting the weights hard and looks to be fully recovered. We can only hope. 6) Jatavis Brown - JB53 was clearly playing better towards the end of the season, highlighted by a couple of big plays against UT. He is another who could benefit greatly by hitting the weights. 7) Justin March - the Alpha Dog should be primed take another step as a leader on this team. If he can avoid injury and pick up 10 or 15 LBS without losing a step, look out! Notice I left out the DBs, because this is the group that concerns me the most. I suspect that some of last year's non-qualifiers will step in as quality depth for the front 7 (especially Arlington McClinton). But the secondary seems really up in the air, beyond Malachi Freeman. Maybe we'll see some JUCOS in this area as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Adams Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 As I've stated ad nauseum, a lot also depends on how many of last year's "non-qualifiers" suit up for the Zips in 2013. Both lines stand to gain if some of these guys are available. I know the O-Line lost some key performers, but I'm still not overly concerned about the offense. The O-Line clearly benefits by TB's scheme. Plus, Tank seems to be as good of a position coach as we have on the team. I've seen enough of KP16 that, with the proven ability coming back at the other skill positions, we should move the ball and score plenty. If we're looking for hopeful spots on defense, I'd start with these guys: 1) Caponi - a high character guy who, although undersized in the interior, showed ability to play with a high motor in 2012 and should be only better in 2013 IF he can stay healthy. 2) Grice - I believe Cody could take BIG steps this year, considering he was playing a new collegiate position as a freshmen last year. 3) James - CSU Ram transfer will need to hopefully take the place of JD Griggs at one starting end spot 4) Presley - showed a big upside before injuries took him out of action. 5) Jamal Turner - assuming he can totally "buy in" (may be questionable, since he missed the Toledo game for unknown reasons), he definitely showed "one of a kind" skills on this side of the ball. The best news we might conceivably hear this off-season is that JT55 is hitting the weights hard and looks to be fully recovered. We can only hope. 6) Jatavis Brown - JB53 was clearly playing better towards the end of the season, highlighted by a couple of big plays against UT. He is another who could benefit greatly by hitting the weights. 7) Justin March - the Alpha Dog should be primed take another step as a leader on this team. If he can avoid injury and pick up 10 or 15 LBS without losing a step, look out! Notice I left out the DBs, because this is the group that concerns me the most. I suspect that some of last year's non-qualifiers will step in as quality depth for the front 7 (especially Arlington McClinton). But the secondary seems really up in the air, beyond Malachi Freeman. Maybe we'll see some JUCOS in this area as well. Presley impressed me during the time he played. When he and Griggs played the line was better. Agree on the secondary. It has been a trainwreck for several years. The LB's don't have a game changer right now. Still not completely sold on the running game. That especially with losses on the O-line. I still think TB needs a quicker smaller RB for his offense. He also needs Pohl to be able to move around behind the line more than Williams. He also needs to be at least a little more of a threat to run when the opps are there. Still lots of questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Presley impressed me during the time he played. When he and Griggs played the line was better. Agree on the secondary. It has been a trainwreck for several years. The LB's don't have a game changer right now. Still not completely sold on the running game. That especially with losses on the O-line. I still think TB needs a quicker smaller RB for his offense. He also needs Pohl to be able to move around behind the line more than Williams. He also needs to be at least a little more of a threat to run when the opps are there. Still lots of questions. Can the running game improve? Sure. Is Chisholm a perfect fit for the offense? Probably not. Do I wish he would lower his shoulder and hit the DB more often instead of heading for the sidelines? You bet. But for the life of me, I can't understand how a guy with THESE STATISTICS over the last two years of less than ideal conditions (even by UA standards) gets derided as much as he does on this board. If you take TB at his word, Jawon is one of the hardest workers on the team and he (TB) was pleasantly surprised in how Jawon was able to adjust his game for the spread last year. 1250+ total yards and a 5.3 yards/carry average is nothing to sneeze at, and he missed the CMU game entirely and portions of others. I do expect a smaller back to get a shot this year, but I believe Chisholm will continue to put up good numbers n 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Astute observations by JZ as always. I am very leery about the NQ's from last year. Numerous questions about the statuses of these players have all gone unanswered, so I don't hold out a lot of hope for these guys suiting up. I hope I am wrong, but it's not looking real promising. I agree with your assessments of the defense and the players that need to step up. Losing KM8 leaves a big hole to fill. Jatavis Brown & Justin March definitely showed flashes of brilliance in '12 and hopefully both come back stronger this year, but we will miss the leadership and stability of #8, no doubt. Griggs was a pretty steady performer as well, and someone who could slide inside to give NC58 & CG36 a much-needed blow. JT55 could be a real force, but nothing has made me believe he will ever realize his potential. I watched his body language and interaction with his teammates a lot last year and he never seemed the least bit integrated into the team. He seemed aloof, detached from the game & generally in the dog house. I will continue to root for him & hope it all finally "clicks". Most concerning to me is the defense will be paper thin again. The lack of depth was a concern voiced in the post-game presser after every Zips loss last year. Even if our returnees play lights out, they need some capable back ups to spell them if the defense is going to be improved in '13. If the defense doesn't make some huge strides, the offense will need to be more efficient if the Zips hope to increase the win total. I also have high hopes for KP16 taking over the reins at QB. However...if the expectation is for him to take over for DW13 and be even better is to expect a QB with 0 career starts to become the Zips' all-time single-season passing leader. Catching that QB lightning in a bottle two years in a row is a tall order. I hope Kyle gets it done, but it won't be easy. Who will replace the production of MS15? That guy was a money player for the Zips and he definitely kept a lot of drives alive with clutch grabs. I am very hopeful Zach D'Orazio can make a full recovery and step into this void, but that is a big question mark. Before his injury he was making some clutch grabs, himself. He looked fearless over the middle. The offense is in need of some playmakers. Dire need. I hope for more downfield throws this year and I hope L.T. Smith turns out to be one of those playmakers we need. I realize it is extremely premature to make any predictions or to have any expectations for the 2013 Zips. But my preliminary gut feeling is that it is up to the offense to crank it up a couple more notches if we are going to see any more wins. Good things happened when the game was sped up last year. Things definitely slowed as the season progressed. I hope to see the quick pace return, even though that pace places additional pressure on our thin defense. I think an extremely efficient offense is the best opportunity for a win. The Zips will win more 66-60 games than they will 28-24 games. Most alarming of all is that we only have 13 schollys to give. 13 is not a good number for a team that lacks depth like ours does. In October, I hope that we can look back on this post and call me Chicken Little... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 In October, I hope that we can look back on this post and call me Chicken Little... Why wait that long? We are in good shape going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 I agree about Chis. He is not the prototypical back for this offense, but he is one of what? 2 guys? that had any type of "explosive" play for the Zips in '12. (Quentin Hines run in the Tennessee game is the only other big play I can think of right off the top) My only knock on Jawon is his habit of stepping out of bounds when there are additional yards there. That really bothers me, but he is a good back nevertheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Why wait that long? We are in good shape going forward. I hope that someday I can be as smart as you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Who are we losing of great value? Our offense's and defense's player of the year. Among others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Why wait that long? We are in good shape going forward. That's what people always say...then the new season starts and we're watching another 1-win football team. Nothing about this team makes me think any differently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipsfan33 Posted July 2, 2013 Report Share Posted July 2, 2013 I bought my Michigan tickets today! Yeah!!! I'm ready for some football!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted July 2, 2013 Report Share Posted July 2, 2013 I am with Jason. I am ready for some football. This is a fun thread to go back and read again. I have certainly become much more bullish on the Zips than I was back in January. The 13 schollys (which was a bogus number) had me scared to death. Nothing much matters until we see the results on the field, but on paper the staff has done a masterful job adding to the roster. I have to give props to ZTZ on this thread. He called me out on being a chicken little and he was right. Who'd a thunk it would be ZTZ leading the way out of Trepidation Forest? Now...Excuse me...I have some dinner waiting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Some "whining" from Steve Spurrier about the SEC unbalanced scheduling. Don't ask me why the SEC released its 2014 schedule just days before the 2013 season, but that's exactly what happened Wednesday. And here's all you need to know: Florida plays both Alabama and LSU in 2014 and Georgia and South Carolina play neither. As one Gator fan emailed me Wednesday: "How is this even remotely fair?" Answer: It's not. In fact, it's a travesty and makes you realize that Steve Spurrier was right last year when he proposed a new way for the SEC to choose division champs. Spurrier said back in the spring of 2012 that the SEC should pick its division champions based on division record instead of overall conference record. I agree, for any conference that is split into divisions, the only fair way to determine a division champion is your record in that division. Your record against the other division should only be used for tiebreaking purposes. Of course in conferences like the MAC, who have an uneven number of teams, it becomes more complicated so I would suggest the following: East division teams play 6 games in division and two crossover games, while the West plays 5 division and three crossover games. This can be accomplished by using a nine week conference schedule where every team has one bye week (for the purposes of simplicity I drew up a schedule where each East team is off for one of the nine weeks and three west teams are off on the other two, because you have to have an odd number for every week but other combinations would work too). This would also allow teams to schedule a non conference game later in the season if they'd like on their off-conference week. Only division games would count for the division championship, the cross division games would only be used as a tie-breaking criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mes102 Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Two Ohio University football players arrested Didn't know where to put this, and didn't want to start a thread just for this. Hopefully putting it in the "MAC" schedule topic makes it relevant, since OU is in the MAC, and we play them every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Two Ohio University football players arrested Didn't know where to put this, and didn't want to start a thread just for this. Hopefully putting it in the "MAC" schedule topic makes it relevant, since OU is in the MAC, and we play them every year. I wonder if jupitertoo will complain that GT doesn't give this story proper coverage in the ABJ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Two Ohio University football players arrested I can never find the right words when I see an article like this, so I'll just stick with "Congratulations". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Two Ohio University football players arrested But you know, Solich and OU do not recruit this type of athlete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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