Got Leadership?

[zff]

Who is the leader of this team? Maybe the better question is do we have a leader on this team. I saw a team today that was unstoppable the frist 3 and 3/4 drives. Leading 14 - 0 and with a 2 and from the Bearcat 19 yard line. And then after three straight runs the Zips crumbled like a stale cookie. Where was the leader to pick the offense up? They were playing with total confidence and precision and then I trun over on downs and that was it. Total crap play from that point on. Is #16 the leader of this team? I think not. He justs a little heat on him and he turns into a school girl. Happy feet in the pocket getting rid of it as soon as he can. But your saying ZFF you are stupid he lead are Zips to a title last year. No the Zips beat bad teams at the end and had some games go there way. And then beat a soft NIU defense for the title. Back to the topic. So are there any leaders on offense. I would say no! At least none that seem willing to speak up. The Zips should have hands down beat Cincinnati by 3 or 4 touchdowns today. It is time for somebody on offense to stand up and take control of the team. Or maybe a defenseive player can play the role if nobody else will.

[zip37]

I CAN SEE NO LEADERSHIP ANYWHERE, THEREFORE, IN MY OPINION 'SOVER

[Quickzips]

This one has to go back to the coaching staff. This kind of consistently sloppy play is an indication of a coaching staff that has either lost their team or lost the ability to adequatley prepare their team.One or two stupid penalties, I can take. Thats on the players. 5,6,7 or 8 dumb false start, holding and interference calls a game is on the coaching staff. Its unacceptable and speaks to a lack of focus.One or two dropped passes, I can take. Thats on the players. Consistently dropping key balls in the endzone, on third down and at crucial parts of the game the way we have the last week is on the coaching staff. It's unacceptable and speaks to a lack of fundamentals which the offensive coaches apparently aren't emphasizing. It isn't just one player either. Jabar, Kasparek, Lindsey and today even Harvey made key drops like it was their job.One or two missed tackles, I can take. Thats on the players. Consistently whiffing on tackles and not wrapping guys up and following through on the play is on the coaching staff. Its unacceptable and speaks to a lack of discipline and fundamentals being taught by the coaching staff.Bottom line, do we have leadership? No. The players aren't stepping up and taking accountability for their own play and the coaches aren't doing their jobs in getting this team ready to play good sound fundamental football week in and week out. I can't help but question JD and his staff right now.

[zipsbandman]

Unfortunately I echo your sentiments Quickzips. The bottom line is we are not improved this year, and we should be a dominant team in this league. The scary thing is we are seeing more and more of JD's recruits in there and when you think that sould be a good thing, it leads me to ask if we are getting the right players in the first place. This is the second week in a row that I can say we were outcoached again. Cincy made adjustments, and we couldn;t handle it. We came out swinging but then we fell flat on our faces. I really want to believe in this team, but it's not looking good. I am not ready to give up on this staff yet, but we are entitled to question what the heck is happening here.

[Buckzip]

This is not a very good team. it is amazing that with so many returning players from last year that we are a much worse team than last year. This is related to player development. I don't see any.

[Valpo Zip]

A couple of observations:1 - Luke is playing exactly how he played the whole last year, (except the 2 games at detroit) where he did an awesome job... we all thought that he was getting more comfortable with the system and that he will keep improving. Instead, he proved us wrong and he showed that he is an "average at most" QB and that the 2 games at detroit were only a fluke.2 - DK was awesome in the first 2 games this year, after his injury at CMU, he is not the same guy. I thought that the guy who can do what he did at Penn state and NCSU would destroy cincy and Can't but once again, we are wrong.3 - Jabari Arthur is not a receiver, never was and will never be. he is only playing as a compensation for being a soldier and accepting Luke taking his spot... i know he broke records at the MCB but who the hell cares. he seems to drop more passes that he catches in a game.4 - Harvey is the man, remember he is still a freshman and he will keep making mistakes.5 - All the penalties and mental mistakes should make the coaches ashamed of themselves.

[Buckzip]

Luke is playing exactly how he played the whole last yearIt's CJ time.

[Ryno aka Menace]

I am not sure how I feel about this topic, I agree that..1. We have no leaders out there! But just maybe the leaders are freshmen who are afraid to speak up!2. Poor tackling and catching being the fault of poor coaching preperation..mmm I can't agree with that because tackling is a "Want to" or "Instinct of being hungry within" a coach can teach you techniques on tackling and catching but I am sorry if you are a D1 athlete you should make these plays.3. I am not gonna jump all over Harvey cause he seems to be the only one who consistently makes plays everyone has there bad days, if this is it for him I can accept that.4. Getsy is an average QB knowing that one of three things needs to happen, incrediblly easy to execute offensive schemes, incredible offensive line blocking, or lastly make that average QB a good QB! - Take your pick coaching staff!!!!

[RACER]

man how quickly we forget that he led us to the mac champoinship ,and threw for over 400 yards is the bowl. i guess it was just a fluke. does anyone honestly think that the other qb's are better.the problems is not luke. our leading rusher kennedy rushed for 29 yards. that's right 29 yards. we had a total of 59 yards rushing!! luke was 16-33 passing ,and had at least six balls dropped.one for a td to harvey. also what about the all the offsides penalites.if you cannot hear the count then just look at the ball when it's snapped. it's not that hard to stay onsides. i just wish we would quit blaming one guy for the losses. the blame falls on the coaches, and the whole team.

[fear the brown roo]

i wonder which is it, the receivers running bad patterns or luke throwing bad balls? many of these tosses are no where near the recievers. luke is not totally to blame but he's part of it, just like everyone else on the field.

[zipdad]

Hey folks. Since my son is not on the travel squad this season (true frosh) I do not post here much. I did talk with him this morning and asked him about who the team leader is. He said that he felt the best leaders on the team were in the junior class. He did not mention any one player in particular but he said that class had the most respect from the first and second year players. Personally I think that any time you have a transfer as a QB that there will be times when that voice will fail to resonate. That is no ones fault, just a fact. Leadership comes from players who have been through the wars over an extended period of time.

[Ryno aka Menace]

Hey folks. Since my son is not on the travel squad this season (true frosh) I do not post here much. I did talk with him this morning and asked him about who the team leader is. He said that he felt the best leaders on the team were in the junior class. He did not mention any one player in particular but he said that class had the most respect from the first and second year players. Personally I think that any time you have a transfer as a QB that there will be times when that voice will fail to resonate. That is no ones fault, just a fact. Leadership comes from players who have been through the wars over an extended period of time.

Good point, am I am not blaming Luke for the loss, and I am not saying his performance was a fluke but how many 400 yards passing games has he had? The most important thing is we have no running game, maybe the back that ran in DK's place for North Texas, needs to get more reps? 29 yards is awful!! All I am saying is if you are a D1 athlete I should have to coach you up on how to tackle and catch!! I should be coaching you on how to run better routes and how to read defenses...you learn the fundamentals in pee wee and those that have solid fundamentals or in rare occasions incredibly athletic get scholarships to D1 schools. My brother played O line for years and he said whenever you have that many o linemen jumping offsides it is usually the result on one thing! Fatigue cause they are not concentrating and are in a hurry to get out of their stance.

[zippyrifle32]

The most important thing is we have no running game, maybe the back that ran in DK's place for North Texas, needs to get more reps? 29 yards is awful!!

Andre Walker is the guy who had the rushing td in the first. if i remember correctly he was a converted cornerback. i just want to see the ball go forward instead of side to side.

[gozips19]

two things come to mind with this question. 1. coaching. many have already posted that akron isn't making any adjustments during the game and that is very ture. i don't think this has been brought up before but i feel akron really has missed jim pry. he worked very closly with luke last year and had a good feel for what akron's offense could or could't do.2. players and coaching again. this is two part as the o line hasn't played well at all! last week i posted the question as how the line would look if changes were made and the results were much the same. they get no push off the line and DK has no were to run. when you can't keep the d honest it becomes harder to make adjustments.that being said the wide outs need to step up and make catches and luke needs to make better decisions with the ball and not get antsy in the pocket.with that being said the season isnt even close to over and the team will get better mostly due to a easier schedule and some games at home (finally)

[RACER]

i have to agree gozips. the schedule is now in our favor.we still have to win the games but unless i read the records worng we do not play anyone left with over .500 record now. toledo and wmu have both fallen back also. miami/buffalo have not won a game.i dont really count the temple win for buffalo. if we can right the ship we can still salvage a decent ,but not great season.

[zipboy]

We had a big mid season lull last year as well. We played pretty good football the first 4 games. Turnovers killed us against CMU. Zips have a couple weeks to right the ship. Given how mediocre the league looks this year, if we go 8-4 and don't win the East, we have a good chance at the 3rd bowl slot. Can't will not go undefeated in the league and will come back to the pack. Oct 21st is the biggest game of the year. The schedule breaks our way the rest of the way. I think the Zips will surprise us and come out swinging. There is a lot of football left to be played.

[Ballingirl]

There's a few problems with the team this year:1: Coaching: Nobody knows how to look past the 1st page of the playbook. We run Kennedy 85% of the time using the same 3 plays. Defenses know exactly where the ball is going that 85% of the time. Against Cincy, it was 3rd and 26 in the second half of the game. The play called was a pitch to Kennedy, from which he gained his usual 3 yards. Why on 3rd and 26 are they running the ball? I understand there's been some problems with our passing game, but a lucky catch is more likely than gaining 26 rushing yards. 2: Underclassmen: There are young guys on the team this year that are thinking they have a free ride to victory. #2's on the depth chart are making excuses of why they can't practice, and are still wanting (and getting, coaches) to play in the games. What ever happened to the theory that if you don't put in the hard work during the week, not getting to get the glory (or lack of, this year) on Saturday afternoon? If you are hurt enough to not practice during the week, sorry but you can watch the game from the bench. There is an excess of laziness and individuality. Everyone wants the personal glory, but doesn't want to put in the hard work and teamwork to get it! After the game, a #2 on the depth chart was complaining about his lack of playing time. He told his family "Screw this team...I can't wait to get into the league!" These guys come in here thinking they know everything and they aren't willing to be coached. 3: Leadership: The offense needs someone to step up and be a leader. Everyone is to blame on the offense. Luke was 16-33, and granted there were 6 dropped passes. But what happened to those other 11 attempts? There were passes thrown 20 yards past the receivers. He needs to learn to go through his progressions. If a receiver is covered, go through your other options. And for the love of God, learn how to get rid of a ball without getting sacked or throwing an interception!! And these receivers need to go back to the fundamentals of running a route and CATCHING THE BALL!!!!4: Team menatlity and character: If I have to hear 1 more person crying about playing time, I'm gonna kick them! You are not a freshman in high school anymore. It's the big leagues now boys. Coaches play the guy who is ready and able to play. You have a bad week at practice or aren't doing your job, then sit down 'cause there's someone else ready to get 'er done! You want the starting position, or you want the next ball, then get out there (in practice or a game) and show the coaches that you not only want it, but you deserve it!!!These boys better learn how to pull it together and do it quick. I have never seen a team with this many return starters (and soooo much talent) throw it all away! At this point, you boys better hope you finish .500!

[Z-P]

Whoa............... :blink: Somebody with some inside skinnie is pissed!

[zff]

Great Post Ballingirl!!!! I rest my case. This quote from a great movie proves my point "Attitude is a reflection of leadership, Captain."Somebody associated with this team better start kicking some asses into shape. Or they will not win another game this year..........How you can go from MAC Champs to shit in one year I will never know.

[Captain Kangaroo]

How you can go from MAC Champs to shit in one year I will never know.

To be fair, we are playing like MAC champs for 1or 2 quarters per game. That's what's most frustrating. You can see the talent is there.

[fear the brown roo]

man, i am looking for any posts from ballingirl from now on.

[RACER]

the one thing i am seeing is how balanced the mac is this year.it's getting like the nfl. i don't know if the league is balanced, or all the teams that bad? how do we beat nc state then lose all these games. n.c. state did beat bc,and florida state. like ck said the talent is there to win games,but no one is stepping up on offense to get the job done.i do think the defense (except for Can't) has played well. when you don't have a running game / not scoring alott of points; it makes the defense job 10x harder.