Game 10- Western Michigan

[Lee Adams]

The difference offensively at least the last two games is like night and day. Gibson has taken control of the offense! Yes, he still holds a little too long some times. But he is making good decisions when he throws, i.e. no picks. Doubt if he is ever going to run effectively. They have a couple of good receivers if they can keep them. Gibson is a keeper now. But, its gonna depend on who they hire as to whether he stays. The O-line is still too porous. WMU players even mentioned that post game. They new they could beat Akron's O-line. With Gibson getting better it is going to open up the run game IF someone can get the O-line in order. Fix the O-line everyone gets better. The Defense is still a train wreck. WMU knew they could run all over them and not have to pass a lot. They said that also. On that last play WR beat double coverage? OH well. Something to build on.

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

54 minutes ago, ZIPFAN21 said:

You guys are absolutely crazy if you think OL played well.  Gibson was hit over 20 times in the game and we still cannot get the running game going.  Yes they are young and continue to improve but putting any blame on the QB is non sense.  Secondly, the second series when the OC put Irons into the game cost the team points.  We were driving and he put him in because of his pride.  He recruited Irons and wants him to shine so he can get credit for his development.  There is NO doubt that Gibson should be and should have been the starter all along.  That led to Arth being fired.  Just my opinion.

Gibson >> Irons >>>>> Kato.

 

Yet Kato was the starter for the first... I don't remember how many games?  Idk.  Maybe Gibson's improved a lot since Fall Camp. Idk, it's just weird, as Gibson is crystal-clearly head and shoulders above Kato.  

 

I like DJ. But I LOVE the QB Gibson's become.

[Blue & Gold]

Cory Smigel has more moxie in his little toe than I've had my entire life 🤣

 

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Blue & Gold

[Captain Kangaroo]

37 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Gibson >> Irons >>>>> Kato.

 

Yet Kato was the starter for the first... I don't remember how many games?  Idk.  Maybe Gibson's improved a lot since Fall Camp. Idk, it's just weird, as Gibson is crystal-clearly head and shoulders above Kato.  

 

I like DJ. But I LOVE the QB Gibson's become.

Does Kato get the 1st series against Kent?

 

Do we stupidly force Irons into the Kent game, mid scoring drive, like we did against Ball State and WMU?

[dre22era]

How much heartbreak can Akron take in one night?

pic.twitter.com/zM0agzCQcp

— BetterThanVegas (@btvbets) November 10, 2021

[ZIPFAN21]

9 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Does Kato get the 1st series against Kent?

 

Do we stupidly force Irons into the Kent game, mid scoring drive, like we did against Ball State and WMU?

That was the dumbest thing I have ever seen.  QB is 9 for 10 passing and you pull him.  Gasser is an idiot.  Probably promised DJ Irons that he would be the starter when he recruited him.  

[ZIPFAN21]

6 hours ago, dre22era said:

Easily should have been picked.  1st of all the safety jumps to early and secondly never should have cut under the route.  Bad technique all around. 

[Zippyroo]

9 hours ago, ZIPFAN21 said:

You guys are absolutely crazy if you think OL played well.  Gibson was hit over 20 times in the game and we still cannot get the running game going.  Yes they are young and continue to improve but putting any blame on the QB is non sense.  Secondly, the second series when the OC put Irons into the game cost the team points.  We were driving and he put him in because of his pride.  He recruited Irons and wants him to shine so he can get credit for his development.  There is NO doubt that Gibson should be and should have been the starter all along.  That led to Arth being fired.  Just my opinion.

Can't let this post go unchecked.  WMU arguably has the best defensive line in the MAC.  Fayad (#1) and Holley (#8) are 1st and 3rd, respectively in the MAC in sacks, both are seniors, and both will be playing on Sunday next year.  Of course, WMU thought they could get pressure against our all freshman front but those boys played one hell of a game only allowing 1.5 sacks between those two monsters.  I am not blaming Gibson for anything but those 20 pressures you mentioned and blamed on the OL is not a fair assessment.  Those pressures could have been easily cut in half if Gibson would have just got rid of the ball quicker or ran when the pass option was not available.  Do not get me wrong, the OL is not perfect but those dudes are coming together and getting better every game.

 

I've also noticed that the OL is often left on an island with very little support from TE's or RB's.  Not only do the players need to adjust to the flow of the game, but so do the coaches by calling plays that are condusive to the QB getting the ball out quicker or by keeping other players in to help block. Plays like screens and changing the snap count can help keep the opposition off balance and slow down the rush.  This approach would also help with our rush attack. 

 

As we all know, football is the ultimate team sport and you can't just solely blame one positional unit for anything on offense or defense since often times there are multiple factors involved. 

[Football grandma]

22 hours ago, bigjim said:

Why is 77, Gray, playing.  He may be large, but he is awful.

This is the player I spoke about weeks ago that won't block and should be on the bench. You all wanted me to name him before. Took the coaches 3 games to discover he was the weakest link, took the opposing teams the first series of downs. 😅 He's ba.a.a.ck...

[Zips Win!]

22 hours ago, GP1 said:

That's about the only two that come to mind for me as well.

 

If half the team transferred, would it matter? Tonight was the first time I took time to watch the Zips play this year. Went back an forth between the Zips and the Miami game since Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, wanted to watch her school win. There is a shocking lack of talent on the team. Not sure how they were able to stay in the game last night, but they did and still lost. Not sure how half of them are not easily replaceable.  My guess is they were highly motivated last night after getting their coach fired. Nobody wants to go down as a coach killer. That motivation will wear off quickly. Players will be talking openly about leaving the program over the next weeks, coaches will be spending a lot of time networking for another job and those left will be smart enough to know there is nobody really holding them accountable for bad play. 

 

22 hours ago, GP1 said:

That's about the only two that come to mind for me as well.

 

If half the team transferred, would it matter? Tonight was the first time I took time to watch the Zips play this year. Went back an forth between the Zips and the Miami game since Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, wanted to watch her school win. There is a shocking lack of talent on the team. Not sure how they were able to stay in the game last night, but they did and still lost. Not sure how half of them are not easily replaceable.  My guess is they were highly motivated last night after getting their coach fired. Nobody wants to go down as a coach killer. That motivation will wear off quickly. Players will be talking openly about leaving the program over the next weeks, coaches will be spending a lot of time networking for another job and those left will be smart enough to know there is nobody really holding them accountable for bad play. 

You can afford a second tv!

[Zipped Up]

On 11/9/2021 at 10:54 PM, bigjim said:

Why is 77, Gray, playing.  He may be large, but he is awful.

 

Ronan Chambers went to the locker room late in the 3rd quarter after an injury.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Zipped Up

[Zipped Up]

14 hours ago, ZIPFAN21 said:

That was the dumbest thing I have ever seen.  QB is 9 for 10 passing and you pull him.  Gasser is an idiot.  Probably promised DJ Irons that he would be the starter when he recruited him.  

True, fact, subjectively true, objectively true. Irons is not an FBS QB, but 3 weeks ago many on this forum thought he was the ONLY talent on the team.

[Waterboy]

Actually the Hail Mary to win the game was there for the taking except we threw it to a 5'6" receiver.............

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 hour ago, Zipped Up said:

True, fact, subjectively true, objectively true. Irons is not an FBS QB, but 3 weeks ago many on this forum thought he was the ONLY talent on the team.

I think you misinterpreted the post. He's saying it was stupid to put Irons in the game when Gibson was rolling. Inserting Irons is like tossing water on the campfire, and our staff has done it two consecutive games. 

 

Irons showed some high level FBS ability earlier in the season. Auburn and Ohio State fans would attest to it. I would too. 😁

 

I've watched a lot of football, and I've only seen this bizarre QB swap done one other time...when Butchie Washington was having a great first quarter against Penn State, and Lee Owens yanked him in favor of Greg Gromeck. I recall Gromeck threw two quick pick 6's, and a tight game quickly flipped to a blowout.

 

Gibson has improved quite a bit over his 3 Freshman seasons at UA. He definitely gives the Zips the best chance to win football games. End zone fumble aside, he values ball security way more than Irons. Good leadership, pocket presence, poise, accuracy and good arm strength. What's not to like? But if Gibson elected to transfer at season's end (hope he doesn't), and a good OC and QB coach had the offseason to work with Irons, and we plucked 4 mature OL's out of the transfer portal, I think we'd be in good shape with Irons at QB in 2022.

[Zipped Up]

2 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I think you misinterpreted the post. He's saying it was stupid to put Irons in the game when Gibson was rolling. Inserting Irons is like tossing water on the campfire, and our staff has done it two consecutive games. 

 

Irons showed some high level FBS ability earlier in the season. Auburn and Ohio State fans would attest to it. I would too. 😁

 

I've watched a lot of football, and I've only seen this bizarre QB swap done one other time...when Butchie Washington was having a great first quarter against Penn State, and Lee Owens yanked him in favor of Greg Gromeck. I recall Gromeck threw two quick pick 6's, and a tight game quickly flipped to a blowout.

 

Gibson has improved quite a bit over his 3 Freshman seasons at UA. He definitely gives the Zips the best chance to win football games. End zone fumble aside, he values ball security way more than Irons. Good leadership, pocket presence, poise, accuracy and good arm strength. What's not to like? But if Gibson elected to transfer at season's end (hope he doesn't), and a good OC and QB coach had the offseason to work with Irons, and we plucked 4 mature OL's out of the transfer portal, I think we'd be in good shape with Irons at QB in 2022.

I didn’t misinterpret anything, I agreed with his post entirely. The only thing I disagree with your post is your assessment of Irons. 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Zipped Up

[Zippyroo]

35 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I think you misinterpreted the post. He's saying it was stupid to put Irons in the game when Gibson was rolling. Inserting Irons is like tossing water on the campfire, and our staff has done it two consecutive games. 

 

Irons showed some high level FBS ability earlier in the season. Auburn and Ohio State fans would attest to it. I would too. 😁

 

I've watched a lot of football, and I've only seen this bizarre QB swap done one other time...when Butchie Washington was having a great first quarter against Penn State, and Lee Owens yanked him in favor of Greg Gromeck. I recall Gromeck threw two quick pick 6's, and a tight game quickly flipped to a blowout.

 

Gibson has improved quite a bit over his 3 Freshman seasons at UA. He definitely gives the Zips the best chance to win football games. End zone fumble aside, he values ball security way more than Irons. Good leadership, pocket presence, poise, accuracy and good arm strength. What's not to like? But if Gibson elected to transfer at season's end (hope he doesn't), and a good OC and QB coach had the offseason to work with Irons, and we plucked 4 mature OL's out of the transfer portal, I think we'd be in good shape with Irons at QB in 2022.

I agree with you on your assessment of Gibson and somewhat about Irons but I am not sure at this point we will need to bring in 4 mature offensive lineman.  I do agree that bringing in a couple of experienced guys to compete at Tackle and/or provide depth with our current crew is advisable but these young players, from an eligibility perspective, some of which are Juniors, are now battle tested.  With another year of strength training and coaching, they should be as good as any that you would get to come to Akron from the portal.  Personally,  I would be happy if we kept our new offensive line coach that replaced Coach Zagorski.  In the short time since he has taken the reins, he has made several changes and the offensive line has really responded.

[zipsoutsider]

Sure, we have talent gaps, but a coach who knows how to prepare team would have pulled off more wins with what we have. When you watch the Zips fall apart, you see a lack of focus and the finest that area that has been prepared demonstrates. I recently heard a QB talk about the way his OC made sure he could execute and called plays that he could make. That matters.

[Zips Win!]

On 11/10/2021 at 10:18 AM, Captain Kangaroo said:

Does Kato get the 1st series against Kent?

 

Do we stupidly force Irons into the Kent game, mid scoring drive, like we did against Ball State and WMU?

Kato can play cornerback anytime he wants.  Only UA would waste valuable snaps with this guy at QB.