Game #6 Miami (OH) Redhawks

[GP1]

I agree. The effectiveness of our punting game also compliments your argument...and, dare I say, knock on wood, our new found field goal team???

I continue to hear coach in the back of my head saying "we need to find what works at Akron." I like the above formula....this year.

One more thing to add to this and it is an important one. What has worked well for Akron this year has been the lack of turnovers. Pohl is pretty accurate throwing anything but the fade pattern (not sure why they kept throwing it). He was terrible at throwing this pattern Saturday; however, when he misses, it is usually thrown so poorly thrown the only possible receiver is a cheerleader so no turnover is created. Luckily, Miami was every bit as bad as advertised.

My concern is the lack of accuracy and touch Woodson displayed. Specifically, the balls thrown behind the receivers are of extra concern. It is natural for a WR to reach behind to try to catch a poorly thrown ball. Frequently, that results in tipped passes and tipped passes frequently land in the hands of the defense. Turnovers and pick sixes will kill us long before a bad punt or a sub par defensive day.

Come Saturday, all of this talk may be for nothing and Pohl will be just fine to take the field and try to lead to the team to a 9-3 record over the past 12 games. Woodson IS going to be a good QB for us some day. I just don't think his skills are sharp enough yet.

[Balsy]

Come Saturday, all of this talk may be for nothing and Pohl will be just fine to take the field and try to lead to the team to a 9-3 record over the past 12 games. Woodson IS going to be a good QB for us some day. I just don't think his skills are sharp enough yet.

According to our friends over there at Bobkittenattack, Pohl WILL be out because he has a partial MCL tear.

[Dave in Green]

I suppose a partial MCL tear is a possibility. But when Pohl walked off the field he looked a little shaken which led me to believe he might be showing some signs of concussion. I didn't see any noticeable limp as he walked off the field, and he seemed to be walking normally on the sideline in the second half, which doesn't fit with a partial MCL tear. I can't find any official reports, so it's all still speculation.

EDIT: Just found a semi-official report that says Pohl's injury is a quadricep.

[zippy5]

Sure would be cool if we had a beat writer that posted here that could help us out.

[zipsoutsider]

That report lists a quadricep injury, but the description is ankle - not sure I would put a lot of stock in it. Bowden talked about a head injury - insinuating possible (not confirmed) concussion in his post-game conference.

[Zipmeister]

I suppose a partial MCL tear is a possibility. But when Pohl walked off the field he looked a little shaken which led me to believe he might be showing some signs of concussion. I didn't see any noticeable limp as he walked off the field, and he seemed to be walking normally on the sideline in the second half, which doesn't fit with a partial MCL tear. I can't find any official reports, so it's all still speculation.

EDIT: Just found a semi-official report that says Pohl's injury is a quadricep.

Our two questionable compares favorably with Ohios fourteen questionable or out.

I'll bet Woodson can heft the long ball, and with five of their safeties questionable or out recommend that he do so on more than one occasion.

[Balsy]

Sure would be cool if we had a beat writer that posted here that could help us out.

Or who actually did their job and reported good information, not just stuff anyone could see from watching the game or from listening to the press conference.

[Zips Win!]

Or who actually did their job and reported good information, not just stuff anyone could see from watching the game or from listening to the press conference.

Tell Pud Dunn to stop announcing game times and dates and find out the flippin status of Pohl.

[zipsoutsider]

EDIT: Wrong thread - sorry!

The bobkitties will be down a DE (Kurt Laseak) during the first half due to a MAC suspension for a personal foul during their last game.

[UAZipster0305]

Good post.

I was surprised by Hundley's as well, but he is pretty good with the the ball in his hands. JC7 was very good though and earned the extra playing time this week.

Bickley is a sore subject with me because I don't think he belongs on a D1 field. In fact, I think his fumble is more predictable than understandable. I totally understand why it happened and I find it unacceptable. He is 5' 6" and the internet says he weighs 147 pounds....my foot. In D1 football, one has to be able to compete against the other humans. What does compete mean and does Bickley have ALL of the tools to compete? Well, one must be fast...Bickley sure is fast. One must be able to catch.....Bickley is mostly good at catching, but has had some drops. How else must one compete? Well, when one catches a pass, one must be able to be strong enough to break a tackle of someone he is competing against and he doesn't have that ability because there is no muscle there to overpower anyone. If the competition is Bickley vs. a strong gust of wind, the line might read as EVEN. Since he doesn't have that ability, he doesn't really offer a lot of opportunity for big plays, which are critical to winning a football game. Strength is another way a person must compete. When another player is trying to take the ball away from you, you must be strong enough to hold on to it. The Miami defender easily stripped the ball from him. Every other MAC defense will see that and go for strips against him and turnovers become a risk. It was too easy. Giving up turnovers is another way to lose a football game.

I don't want to seem too disparaging about Bickley. I do think he is putting forward 100% effort and competing as hard as he can. We should all applaud his effort on the field. I just don't think he has the raw tools to really be able to be a big play guy every week and the upside is very limited. I don't think it would be difficult to develop a player behind him to take his job NEXT YEAR or even bring in a transfer to easily remove him from the slot position. For a guy with the third most yards receiving (173), he has almost nothing to show for it. His longest play is 21 yards and he has zero TDs. If Terry Pluto still wrote for the ABJ, there would be weekly articles about him. That's all we need to know.

In closing, regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters in football......

GP!, I don't feel that you are being objective about Bickley. Big deal, he fumbled the ball. All players will do that if they get enough touches. He's not fumble prone, and that fumble was not necessarily due to his size. Did you see Bickley's catch into traffic near the goalline in the 4th quarter? He took a big hit, held onto the ball, and stayed on his feet after initial contact. If our other "big" receivers were so much better than him, he wouldn't be third on the team in receiving yards, and our coaches wouldn't be giving him touches.

Bickley's size is one of the reasons a player with his speed is in the MAC. He is a good player for us, and he is still young being only a sophomore. I'd like to see him get the ball more, particularly when the offense needs a spark. However, I like how his skills are currently utilized overall.

Even though we don't have many casual fans, perhaps those that do exist like Bickley because of success in spite of his size? Afterall, he is highly identifiable on the field because of it. Warrick Dunn anyone?

[GP1]

GP!, I don't feel that you are being objective about Bickley. Big deal, he fumbled the ball. All players will do that if they get enough touches. He's not fumble prone, and that fumble was not necessarily due to his size

I am being objective. I don't want any players that small. They don't need to get him more touches. They need to get the ball to their big play guys. He doesn't score TDs. He may not have gone down by the goal line, but he didn't score eithe .

[UAZipster0305]

I am being objective. I don't want any players that small. They don't need to get him more touches. They need to get the ball to their big play guys. He doesn't score TDs. He may not have gone down by the goal line, but he didn't score eithe .

Remember, Bickley was recruited to Akron at a time when players with his speed wouldn't come to Akron if we paid them. Thanks, iCoach. Also, our big receivers weren't making big plays on Saturday. Hence, some changes in the offense.

Bickley will score a big TD in a big game before this season is over. You should be rooting for Bickley because the success of the team partially depends on it.

Enough though; I have no desire to argue indefinitely with you about this. I just felt the need to provide some balance here.

[zippy5]

If it was up to you, the Eagles would be a lot less exciting. I know it's less likely that smaller players will succeed, but there are always exceptions.

[Zipmeister]

All this back and forth is going to confuse the Bobkitten fans.

To summarize the discussion to this point for their benefit.......

Our first string quarterback has suffered either a head quadricep injury or an ankle MCL tear.

His backup will be lucky to throw the ball within 10 feet of our receivers, and

you don't even need to cover one of our receivers because he is so tiny he should be working in a circus.

We don't stand a chance against you guys.

Please be merciful..

[Balsy]

I am being objective. I don't want any players that small. They don't need to get him more touches. They need to get the ball to their big play guys. He doesn't score TDs. He may not have gone down by the goal line, but he didn't score either .

So that's why he scored two TD's last year...because he doesn't score TDs.

Bickley is a good player with the potential to be great for the Zips.

[johnnyzip84]

That was some of your best material in quite a while, 'meister!

[Dave in Green]

Bickley has earned his PT on the basis of his overall performance. If Coach Bowden had a player smaller than Bickley who could outperform him at that position, Bickley would be sitting.

[Jrship35]

Just win baby !!!!!!

[LZIp]

Wasnt Bickley the 2nd leading WR on the team last year as a true freshman? 3 receptions from being #1 btw. Obviously a player his size has his limitations, but I enjoy seeing what he does once the ball gets in his hands. He made a great catch while taking a big shot down the seam last week if im not mistaken..

[GP1]

Remember, Bickley was recruited to Akron at a time when players with his speed wouldn't come to Akron if we paid them. Thanks, iCoach. Also, our big receivers weren't making big plays on Saturday. Hence, some changes in the offense.

Bickley will score a big TD in a big game before this season is over. You should be rooting for Bickley because the success of the team partially depends on it.

I am rooting for him.

I don't care how he came to be here at this point. It doesn't matter where we have been, it matters where we are going. Our players weren't making big plays on Saturday because our only big play attempts were the fade pattern and Pohl was mistaking cheerleaders for players and throwing the ball to them. They didn't have a chance to make a big play.

[GP1]

Wasnt Bickley the 2nd leading WR on the team last year as a true freshman? 3 receptions from being #1 btw.

2nd leading WR and only two TDs? That isn't very good.

[Dr Z]

2nd leading WR and only two TDs? That isn't very good.

Most of the year I have been writing about the struggles of our offense.

PS With TW13's two second half td drives, we are up to a whopping #122 now. 83 percent on Saturday.

[GP1]

Most of the year I have been writing about the struggles of our offense.

PS With TW13's two second half td drives, we are up to a whopping #122 now. 83 percent on Saturday.

The struggle with the offense as it relates to scoring TDs close to the end zone is we throw too many fade passes when it is obvious the QB isn't hitting on the fade passes....unless of course a security guard catching a pass is a completion. My guess it isn't coming of any surprise to the defense that we are throwing that pattern. We don't throw any passes close to the end zone that would create confusion for a defense. A lot of NFL teams use receivers in the front of the end zone and compliment that with receivers running across the back of the end zone. Star NFL receivers catch a lot of balls across the back of the end zone for TDs...it happened last night. I don't see us doing that. We just seem to be trying to either complete a quick pass with the hopes the receiver can make it in to the end zone or we throw a fade pattern. What makes it even worse is we have developed a decent running game that shows the ability to score in the red zone, yet we don't seem to run any pass plays that would feed off of that success. The fade pattern doesn't feed off of the success of the run...it's an all or nothing play.

Lastly, I could care less what our season ranking is in the red zone. It's meaningless at this point. What a team does more recently matters than what they do all season. Michigan won and lost 20 spots. Not sure why I could care about a stat that doesn't total big plays or turnovers or even third down efficiency over the past three weeks which has improved to put us next to Michigan State over the last 3 weeks.

[Dr Z]

We don't throw any passes close to the end zone that would create confusion for a defense. A lot of NFL teams use receivers in the front of the end zone and compliment that with receivers running across the back of the end zone. Star NFL receivers catch a lot of balls across the back of the end zone for TDs...it happened last night. I don't see us doing that. We just seem to be trying to either complete a quick pass with the hopes the receiver can make it in to the end zone or we throw a fade pattern. What makes it even worse is we have developed a decent running game that shows the ability to score in the red zone, yet we don't seem to run any pass plays that would feed off of that success. The fade pattern doesn't feed off of the success of the run...it's an all or nothing play.

I would go with what our strength is in the red zone. Rush the ball. Example: three rushing touchdowns on Saturday. ZERO passing. This is one of the reasons our red zone scoring efficiency was effective Saturday as opposed to the the rest of the season. Pretty simple. When your better than the other team, line it up and pound it down their throat. Once you start doing that, play action passing becomes an effective weapon, and there is no need for multiple reads. This is how you help out an average QB.

[GP1]

I would go with what our strength is in the red zone. Rush the ball. Example: three rushing touchdowns on Saturday. ZERO passing. This is one of the reasons our red zone scoring efficiency was effective Saturday as opposed to the the rest of the season. Pretty simple. When your better than the other team, line it up and pound it down their throat. Once you start doing that, play action passing becomes an effective weapon. This is how you help out an average QB.

I don't disagree. Eventually though, we are going to have to be able to throw for TDs in the red zone. Miami's defense is absolutely horrible. To give up a 10 yard draw play for a TD on third down is inexcusable. That has more to do with their incompetence than our ability to run the ball. A good MAC defense isn't going to allow that to happen.

I'm all for play action pass in the red zone. I've seen enough of the pass to the security guard.