Captain's Log #7

[Captain Kangaroo]

Random Toledo Thoughts:· Thank God I didn’t have to pay for that one. Word of advice: If you travel to see the Zips on the road against a mid-major or MAC school, don’t buy your tickets ahead of time. There are always freebies to be had outside the gate.· We drive down the field on the initial possession. We get to the 10 yard line. We’ve all seen what happens when we pass in this situation…we have one of the best “inside the 10” running backs in school history…and we throw the ball? I don’t get it. Wasn’t the Getsy-to-Harvey INT at CMU evidence enough of the risk of such a play? · Toledo takes over on the 3 yard line and, taking a page from K.e.n.t, goes no-huddle and drives it down our throat. Amazing that our defense could come out so unprepared.· Next possession we throw a sideline pass to Poindexter…who’s hands have been unreliable all season…and it goes for 7 the other way. · Stec gets a punt blocked…yet again…and we go down 21-0 in the first quarter. Throughout the evening Stec is fielding grounders from Giachetti.· Toledo’s offensive line shoved us back 5-7 yards every time they needed it. Yeah, not having Nate Robinson was a factor, but in general we are very thin (depth-wise). Reid and Gonzales are good, after that, the talent drop-off is noticeable. I see where some are questioning the 3-3-5. What else can we play with the depth we presently have at this position? · We stunted Grant up the middle. How easy is it for a 310 lb OL to push back an upright 230 lb LB at the line of scrimmage? It is very easy, and a sure 5-7 yards every time they tried it.· The drop by Lindsay was crippling.· I say we let Domonokos kick XP’s from 47 yards out. Get a few unsportmanlike penalties to push us back and let’em kick. He’s solid from that distance.· When Toledo scored their 3rd TD I looked at the Zips bench. Jacqumaine and DeAndre Scott were getting a good laugh out of something. Maybe they were discussing the ZipsNation posters who believed JD is bolting for Colorado State? Anyhow…the last thing I want to see on our sidelines is players yukking it up as we go down 21-0. To me, that speaks volumes for why Carlton Jackson has become the solid #2. Jacqumaine should get ready to play WR if he ever wants to see the field as a Zip. QB’s don’t act that way. I’ll cut Scott some slack because he’s not getting into the game. He’s along for the bus ride as a redshirt.· The players who gave it their all in that game: Jabari played his heart out. Ditto Andre Jones. Grant, Kiki and Jermaine Reed left everything on the Toledo turf. · Everyone on this board has some thing they see that no one else does. Some logic-defying opinion that makes no sense, yet they hold onto it like it’s their own son. I have mine…I think Dennis Kennedy could have 50 more yards per game if he’d finish his runs. Once he’s in the secondary, he puts his head down and gets a couple yards as he’s tripped up by a safety of CB. He never stiff-arms…never jukes…he just goes down…or out of bounds. From what I’ve seen this year, I could never see him at Ohio State. Hey…he’s been over 120 yards the past two games. I know. But we don’t need 15 yard runs. We need a guy that can go the distance once in a while because…well…our redzone offense is horrible.· Speaking of redzone offense. Two possessions inside the 5 yard line and we get 6 points? You could see it coming. Terrible play calls…terrible execution…penalties…we are predictably clueless inside the 5. And, although I complain about Kennedy above, he is undeniably “money” inside the 5. It may take him three shots to get in, but he’ll get there. Guaranteed. Yet we are tossing balls to Jabari and Kasparek in that situation. How easy are we making things for the opposing defense?· Ok…since it is “beat on Kennedy day,” I’ll throw out one more: Watch Kennedy pass block. Whenever Luke was in the shotgun, Kennedy got manhandled by the blitzing LB. Bobby Hendry, where are you! If Kennedy were in the backfield during the Frye years, Frye would have been crippled mid-way through his junior season.· If Kennedy’s blocking was lethargic, you should see David Harvey on kick-offs, if the ball doesn’t come his way. He should simply run off the field if that’s all the blocking he’s got to offer. · Toledo’s stadium looks like a big Children’s Palace. Beautiful press box/loge area, decent seating…but the surrounding stonework looks like the scenery props from a summer stock play or a bad dinner theater.· Toledo’s offensive line was impressive. They got forward surges on our DL’s that I’ve never seen our OL create all season.· Toledo’s QB is terrible.· Balaam got some PT and acquitted himself well.· Chevin Pace played an inauspicious 2 quarters before getting pulled.· The halfback pass was a great call by Toledo. I bet Tate bites on that 9 times out of 10. The fake field goal was stupid, but had a good result. Either way I give Amstutz credit for knowing his team’s limitations and getting creative in finding a way to get into the endzone. I haven’t seen much “creative” by the Zips offense in some time…unless you want to count that bizarre Carlton Jackson thing from a week ago. · We were 3-13 on third down conversions, and had over 100 yards in penalties…AGAIN!· Time to get Carlton Jackson some reps this week. I still start Luke, and Luke should get the lion’s share of the snaps, but CJ should get a couple series.· The two unsportsmanlike calls against our coaches were disappointing. Yeah, I guess you need to show you’ve got your players backs…but there’s no positive spin to how it looks…it looks like you’ve lost control and are “bush.”· In my opinion, the refs had little to do with the outcome of the game. In fact, they were a lot better than the crew that refereed the Miami game the previous week.· We’ll beat BG this week because BG will stink. Look for a repeat of the Miami game. 25-13.

[Buckzip]

Good writeup. I agree with just about everything. My only difference is that I would let CJ have more than a few series.As for the players laughing, does the coaching staff know about this, and not care?

[AZipsCrazy]

I agree... up until this loss I still had aspirations of the Zips winning the East, albeit a longshot. Now it is time to prepare for next season. I think both CJ's should see significant time, might as well give'em both a shot in the game and see how they do right? This is very dissappointing to have to be preparing for next season already.This team is lost and obviously needs some strong leaders to emerge... if not I see us having the same outcome next year "lot's of talent and no results".

[GP1]

· Toledo’s offensive line shoved us back 5-7 yards every time they needed it. Yeah, not having Nate Robinson was a factor, but in general we are very thin (depth-wise). Reid and Gonzales are good, after that, the talent drop-off is noticeable. I see where some are questioning the 3-3-5. What else can we play with the depth we presently have at this position? · We stunted Grant up the middle. How easy is it for a 310 lb OL to push back an upright 230 lb LB at the line of scrimmage? It is very easy, and a sure 5-7 yards every time they tried it.

Good post CK.These two points go hand in hand. Stay tuned for a year end post on why this defense is so bad.Watch Louisville pound the ball down WVU's throat this Thursday with a back up tailback and you will see why this defense is starting to become exposed around the country by good running games. Gimmicks have a very short shelf live. Remember the run & shoot?

[RACER]

while i thought the talk of the 10-2 season after the nc state win was crazy there is no reason this team should be 3-5 either. the bad thing is you cannnot tell me Can't,ou,cmu have more talent than akron.this is a team who won the mac coming back with 16 starters. our short yardage ,and red zone offense is terrible. how many times this year did we have third/short and get stuffed. we get inside the ten and seem to always come up with 0 points. at this point we need to play some more rb besides kennedy.i like dk, but we need to see some other guys get some experience for next year at ol,rb. we also need to get some other qb's some pt. im not saying bench luke at all.the fact is i cringe at the thought of a inexperinced qb ,and rebuilt ol next year going in at osu. no reason (none) the zips should not win the next two games. temple beat bg (enough said). if we lose to either of these two teams it's not because of lack of talent.

[Ballingirl]

Agreed CK. This team has fallen apart. They are not playing to win. They are playing to not lose, and we can't even get that done. You are like the 8th person I've heard talking about the guys laughing on the sideline when the team's in trouble. If these guys aren't there to play, why bring them. With their heads that far out of the game, they aren't gonna do any good if they HAVE to go in the game anyways. CJ should start getting more reps. Finally people have started to see the lack of ability and leadership Luke has. It's just a shame that it took over half a season and 5 losses for people to realize that. I know CJ is less experienced than Luke, but he can't possibly look worse than luke did on Saturday. I believe that with a new QB, it might mix it up some. Again, Jabari, J. Reid and Kiki, good games. Kennedy, way to finally get more than 3 yards every run.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Agreed CK. This team has fallen apart. They are not playing to win. They are playing to not lose, and we can't even get that done. You are like the 8th person I've heard talking about the guys laughing on the sideline when the team's in trouble. If these guys aren't there to play, why bring them.

I just don't get it. As a fan, there's noting more frustrating than seeing the opponent punch the ball in to the endzone...except, when see that several guys on your own team could care less. It wasn't like it was one or two minutes after the score that they were getting their big belly laugh. In fact, the Toledo ballcarrier hadn't even given the football back to the ref yet. That it is a quarterback doing so is, to me, boarderline unforgivable. Put a ball cap on...put a head set on..chart some plays...fire up some of the starters...that's the leadership a QB requires. Conversely, I see a guy like Evan Laube (#40) on the sidelines. That kid never has a chance in hell to get in the game, yet he's always up on the sidelines paying attention.I remember at the Wisconsin game a few years back Jabari was a reserve, redshirting QB who made the road trip. He was so fired up on the sidelines it was unreal. All game long. You can see that in Jabari now too...vs. Toledo, after the catch he was ripping, tearing, doing whatever he could to get into the endzone. You'd think such effort would rub off on the younger guys, but some apparently don't want to listen.Maybe some of JD's substitution patterns are to blame. A token carry for a reserve RB, a series for a reserve OL or a series for a reserve QB would likely make the guys on the sidelines more attentive. Regardless, if my backup QB is laughing as we go down 21-0, it's on him. That guy can't lead a team.

[Zip Watcher]

I remember at the Wisconsin game a few years back Jabari was a reserve, redshirting QB who made the road trip. He was so fired up on the sidelines it was unreal. All game long.

The same could be seen of Carlton Jackson @ Purdue last season.

[Ballingirl]

Maybe some of JD's substitution patterns are to blame. A token carry for a reserve RB, a series for a reserve OL or a series for a reserve QB would likely make the guys on the sidelines more attentive.

Perfect example is at the Miami game. Although he messed up real bad on the first play he was in, CJ put some fear in Luke. Once Luke saw that JD was giving CJ a chance, Luke stepped up and started playing ball like he should've been for a year and a half now. If it doesn't give your underclassmena reason to pay attention, it sure gives your starters some fear that if they don't get their job done, someone else will get a chance.

[Buckzip]

What substitution patterns? It seems the only way there are any switches out there is if someone, other than Luke, plays extremely bad, or gets hurt. If we don't have anyone better than Crouch, then we are in big trouble next year.

[Dr Z]

Watch Louisville pound the ball down WVU's throat this Thursday with a back up tailback and you will see why this defense is starting to become exposed around the country by good running games.  Gimmicks have a very short shelf live.  Remember the run & shoot?

I remembered reading your comment when I was watching the game last night.Did you notice how many WV players were on the line of scrimmage during predicted running plays?

[Ballingirl]

If we don't have anyone better than Crouch, then we are in big trouble next year.

I don't care if the #2 behind Crouch sucks! It would just be nice to see someone in there that doesn't have guaranteed penalties EVERY GAME!!!!

[Buckzip]

If we don't have anyone better than Crouch, then we are in big trouble next year.

I don't care if the #2 behind Crouch sucks! It would just be nice to see someone in there that doesn't have guaranteed penalties EVERY GAME!!!!

Good point.

[GP1]

Watch Louisville pound the ball down WVU's throat this Thursday with a back up tailback and you will see why this defense is starting to become exposed around the country by good running games.  Gimmicks have a very short shelf live.  Remember the run & shoot?

I remembered reading your comment when I was watching the game last night.Did you notice how many WV players were on the line of scrimmage during predicted running plays?

Yes I did. Did you also notice how throwing on first down across the middle 5-10 yards exposes all of the blitzing players? UL did everything to WVU that teams have been beating us with all season. Think of the Can't game and the Toledo game. Both did to us what UL did last night. The 3-3-5 relies on blitzing, which is basically guessing. Nobody really wants to blitz. In a battle of Reason vs. Guessing, Reason will win every time. It's too hard to guess right all the time.The halftime score was 16-14 in favor of Louisville. UL went on four scoring drives to WVU's two. If you and I know how to beat the 3-3-5, then everyone else in college football knows also. This defense is a gimmick that has run out of shelf life. There is no reason for a team to score as many points as WVU did and lose the game. turnovers also killed WVU.Another thing that was amazing to me last night that I have to get off of my chest is how Slaton let his team down with his little boo boo on his wrist. Rodriguez should have taken him aside and said, "Look, we are playing for the national championship here. Quit squeezing your stress ball and get your ass in the game." Jack Youngblood once played a playoff game with a broken leg. Chris Sims played a game with a ruptured spleen. I think Slaton could have carried the ball with his other hand in a game of that magnitude.Man, all of this typing has made me thirsty. I could sure use a Yuengling.

[UADavid]

(GP1 @ Oct 30 2006, 04:09 PM) Watch Louisville pound the ball down WVU's throat this Thursday with a back up tailback and you will see why this defense is starting to become exposed around the country by good running games.  Gimmicks have a very short shelf live.  Remember the run & shoot?

Louisville won by passing the ball. WVU couldn't stop the pass. With 5 db's stopping the pass, they should have had more success. The linebackers were getting destroyed covering the middle and deep middle. They would allow the catch and then attempt a tackle. WVU put a lot more pressure on the QB than we have been able to, but the play action froze the defense. The pound the ball claim didn't happen. Louisville had 127 yards on 29 attempts for a respectable 4.4 yards per attempt. I don't think Slaton hurt the team by not being in there. His inability to hold onto the ball cost his team two touchdowns and any momentum they may have had. That and the pass defense is what hurt the team. If he can't hold the ball, why would anyone want him to play? Both teams have good offenses but neither has any semblance of defense and they will be overmatched against the elite Big 10 competition.

[GP1]

(GP1 @ Oct 30 2006, 04:09 PM) Watch Louisville pound the ball down WVU's throat this Thursday with a back up tailback and you will see why this defense is starting to become exposed around the country by good running games.  Gimmicks have a very short shelf live.  Remember the run & shoot?

Louisville won by passing the ball. WVU couldn't stop the pass. With 5 db's stopping the pass, they should have had more success. The linebackers were getting destroyed covering the middle and deep middle. They would allow the catch and then attempt a tackle. WVU put a lot more pressure on the QB than we have been able to, but the play action froze the defense. The pound the ball claim didn't happen. Louisville had 127 yards on 29 attempts for a respectable 4.4 yards per attempt. I don't think Slaton hurt the team by not being in there. His inability to hold onto the ball cost his team two touchdowns and any momentum they may have had. That and the pass defense is what hurt the team. If he can't hold the ball, why would anyone want him to play? Both teams have good offenses but neither has any semblance of defense and they will be overmatched against the elite Big 10 competition.

I think we agree. In fact, I think in your first paragraph you could substitute the word Akron for WVU and you described our season perfectly. They didn't have a huge night running, but they did run the ball effectively when they needed to do so.Where we disagree is Slaton. He is one of the top players in the country and should be out on the field late regardless of how he played early. With the season on the line, he has to perform.

[Ballingirl]

But if he's not performing early in a game, and makes to costly mistakes, why keep him on the field? This sounds like everyone's discussions about Getsy. "Keep him on the field, he's the man". Point blank: if a player is not getting the job done, take him out.