Initial Game 1 Thoughts

[catdaddyp]

I hope I’m able to watch this game again, because I definitely missed some things that I’d like to have a second look at.

 

- A win is a win. I would be concerned if we lacked talent, but most areas of improvement can be fixed through coaching and not having to wait another year for more talent.

- Tim Terry needs to play more. He and Bubba ought to see the majority of snaps at LB.

- Outside contain was a sore spot.
- I need to rewatch, but it seemed SFU often attacked OLB Thomas or whoever the DB was that came in as a Nickel.

- The OL showed some improvement, especially in the run game when Daniels came in at LT.

- SFU threw alot of blitzes at us. The pressure and sacks weren’t all on the OL. Sometimes it was poor pickup by the RB while others were on Irons for holding the ball too long.

- Irons must be more consistent. He missed way too many throws tonight, especially on deep balls and crossing routes.

- Surprising that Wiley was the only one to see carries at RB. I was not impressed with him the majority of the night. He missed a number of cutback lanes.

- Whoever is blitzing on defense needs to get closer to the line of scrimmage. It doesn’t help in the slightest starting the blitz from 5-7 yards away.

- Our DBs need to do a better job of getting off blocks.

- Victor Jones does so many things well. All-MAC candidate this year.

I firmly believe this is going to be a good year. So many coaching points from tonight that will clean up a number of mistakes in the coming weeks. There was a heavy rotation on defense and I’m surprised about the guys we did not see. I wonder if we’ll see more new faces next week. Proud of the way this team did not buckle under pressure.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by catdaddyp

[LZIp]

Well said @catdaddyp. I agree with many of your points initially, but will rewatch on TV. 

 

I noticed Devon Robinson, Cam Threatt, and Clark didn't seem to play at all. Clark doesn't bug me too much at Brank and Banks look good at TE, but would like for Robinson and Threatt to get out there. Both were dressed.

 

Alex Adams didn't play a whole lot...I think he's battling an injury and they err'd on the side of caution for him. Gathings may have had an injury too. Very surprised Wiley was the only RB to get carries. Think the only other RB I saw in there was Price and that was maybe one snap.

 

I really like how the staff is playing starters on special teams. Shockey made a nice play on punt coverage and I noticed George in there too. Kickoff coverage was good.

[catdaddyp]

9 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Well said @catdaddyp. I agree with many of your points initially, but will rewatch on TV. 

 

I noticed Devon Robinson, Cam Threatt, and Clark didn't seem to play at all. Clark doesn't bug me too much at Brank and Banks look good at TE, but would like for Robinson and Threatt to get out there. Both were dressed.

 

Alex Adams didn't play a whole lot...I think he's battling an injury and they err'd on the side of caution for him. Gathings may have had an injury too. Very surprised Wiley was the only RB to get carries. Think the only other RB I saw in there was Price and that was maybe one snap.

 

I really like how the staff is playing starters on special teams. Shockey made a nice play on punt coverage and I noticed George in there too. Kickoff coverage was good.

Agreed, I don’t recall seeing Robinson or Threatt which is odd after the amount of highlights we saw of them in the spring and fall. 
 

I believe Price was the cause for one of the sacks. I’m not sure if he got in again after that.

 

I know many P5 teams play a number of starters on ST. Pretty sure I saw a handful of backups on ST too. I think I saw Hester as a gunner on punts. I believe it was long snapper Kyle Bauman who caught my eye as someone who was quickly getting down the field on punt coverage.

[MDZip]

Too many stupid unsportsmanlike penalties after the play - I recall at least two. Too many memories of undisciplined teams of the past. Hope those players bought a little pine time to think about it. 

[Football grandma]

The MVP of the game was the punter so I was only mildly impressed with the team play. I agree with most of the comments made in this thread tonight. I don't like O/D starters used on special teams. It's not necessary when you have Sideliners that can do the job and have the experience. I guess the coaches went with speed, but one speedster was usually the first one to get knocked down. But, you all know I like to see more guys get a chance to play.

[InTheZone]

It would be nice to have a couple games to build on the momentum of winning in thrilling fashion, even if it was against a very bad team. Unfortunately that's not what the schedule holds. We are going to get absolutely throttled on the road the next three weeks.  I just hope Joe can keep the guys heads up through it looking forward to game we should win against BG.

[bigjim]

My thoughts on the first game.  I had picked the Zips to win by at least 4 scores.  I did also add a post on the size of the lines of SFU and that they may cause some issues with the Zips.  I am listing the Good, Bad, and Ugly in no particular order from the SFU game. 

 

Good

A Win - A win is a win is a win.  No need to apologize.  Just Book it!!

Akron WR play - It seemed like every play that at least 2 wide receivers were wide open.  The transfers played great as well as the existing roster.  

Punter - Gettman had some fantastic punts, turned the field over

Bubba's play - led the team in tackles, but I expect more

Victor Jones play -tied Bubba in tackles, had a solid game.  Hope he can keep it up

Wiley's running -good at times, not so good at other times

Tight End play, Branks and Banks played well with the limited number of throws, Brank had a TD catch

Irons running - had a couple of nice runs

 

Bad 

Irons passing - even though he had some connections, his passing was poor based on how open the receivers were all evening.  

Punt returns - seemed to give up 12-20 yards of field position with every situation in which a fair catch was not made.  

Irons Decision making - awful, nothing more to say

Not playing Norrills - surprise, hate to see him get frustrated and enter the portal.  Good player, lots of talent

I disagree with above on playing many starters on ST.  - I think the players on the frisk need to get PT on ST, get great team buy-in

Penalties - Several very bad penalties'

Gray - Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane

Missed PAT and FG - cannot have from Smigel

 

Ugly

Game experience - massive failure by Guthrie.  If I was not an alum and former athlete who has paid for tickets, I would not show up again.  

Sacks - I believe there were 6 sacks, how awful.  It was a combination of the OL, lack of RB pickup, and extremely poor decision making by Irons.  

Favorable Penalty calls - I bleed Akron, but I watch the games objectively.  There were 3 critical holding calls, 2 on long passes that came back and one on a punt.          When I watched the punt, I could not see a penalty.  Also, the same applies on one of the long passes that got called back.  

SFU missed field goal as a result of a penalty - I listed this as ugly since if it was not for a silly SFU penalty, the Red Flashes may have won in regulation

Game not televised - Why would Guthrie agree to a Thursday game that is not televised

Win Total prediction - I predicted 7 wins, the pundits said the over/under was 2-2.5.  We shall see who is correct.  

 

Go Zips 

[Zipmeister]

If the WR were running wide open all night perhaps it would not be a bad idea to give #13 a shot at QB; supposedly his passes are more accurate than Irons.

In the Game 1 Prediction thread, I said that the Zips have a problem if they couldn't beat these guys by at least 8 points.

They have a problem.

[catdaddyp]

16 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

I hope I’m able to watch this game again, because I definitely missed some things that I’d like to have a second look at.

 

- A win is a win. I would be concerned if we lacked talent, but most areas of improvement can be fixed through coaching and not having to wait another year for more talent.

- Tim Terry needs to play more. He and Bubba ought to see the majority of snaps at LB.

- Outside contain was a sore spot.
- I need to rewatch, but it seemed SFU often attacked OLB Thomas or whoever the DB was that came in as a Nickel.

- The OL showed some improvement, especially in the run game when Daniels came in at LT.

- SFU threw alot of blitzes at us. The pressure and sacks weren’t all on the OL. Sometimes it was poor pickup by the RB while others were on Irons for holding the ball too long.

- Irons must be more consistent. He missed way too many throws tonight, especially on deep balls and crossing routes.

- Surprising that Wiley was the only one to see carries at RB. I was not impressed with him the majority of the night. He missed a number of cutback lanes.

- Whoever is blitzing on defense needs to get closer to the line of scrimmage. It doesn’t help in the slightest starting the blitz from 5-7 yards away.

- Our DBs need to do a better job of getting off blocks.

- Victor Jones does so many things well. All-MAC candidate this year.

I firmly believe this is going to be a good year. So many coaching points from tonight that will clean up a number of mistakes in the coming weeks. There was a heavy rotation on defense and I’m surprised about the guys we did not see. I wonder if we’ll see more new faces next week. Proud of the way this team did not buckle under pressure.

 

 

Went back through and rewatched the game. Here’s my reflective take.

 

QB - Irons was far too inconsistent. I tallied up 23 for 30 with a clean pocket and 1 for 9 under pressure. He can’t miss on those wide open deep balls and also can’t take some of the sacks he took. If Irons can’t be more consistent, he either needs to be replaced or used more heavily as a runner.

 

RB - Wiley was ok. On the zone runs he has to be able to make at least one defender miss. He struggled to do that in the first half but did a better job in the second. Our OL also got more push in the second half, so that helped.

 

WR - This is an explosive group with SJL, George, Adams, Gathings, and Golden. Gathings may have dislocated or broken his finger in the 2nd quarter on the under thrown deep ball by Irons. No complaints here whatsoever.

 

TE - Brank and Banks make for a really nice duo. I expect them to see more balls come their way as the season wears on. Brank also had a few key blocks in the game.

 

OL - Mixed bag here. Williams and Whigan were excellent on the right side (RT and RG respectively). Daniels looked much better than Gray at LT. LG and C is where we struggled until the end of the 3rd quarter. Both centers Robarge and Georges were getting handled by those DTs the majority of the game. Banes at LG also had his issues. That area must improve for the run game to have success. 

DL - It’s clear that Jones, Harper, and Wilson are the best we saw up front. Toss a coin between Morton and Johnson at the other DE spot. 
 

LB - Bubba was Bubba. Terry should be starting beside him. Terry was in on almost every play, but didn’t always finish off the tackle. Fish is a time bomb waiting to happen- in a good way. He’s big, fast, and explosive. When the light goes on for him mentally, look out.

 

DB - Oh boy. Golden Nelson looked solid at one CB spot. JKP looked good at Safety and Darrian Lewis is a baller at Nickel who should never come off the field. Safety play besides JKP and the other CB spot was rough at times. Maybe Durant gets his chance to claim it now? The other S spot, I don’t know. Maybe Threatt will see time next week after mysteriously not seeing the field yesterday.

 

 

This team is better than last year despite what it may have seemed like yesterday. Still some questions that need to be answered though.

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by catdaddyp

[zipsalum85]

27 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

If the WR were running wide open all night perhaps it would not be a bad idea to give #13 a shot at QB; supposedly his passes are more accurate than Irons.

In the Game 1 Prediction thread, I said that the Zips have a problem if they couldn't beat these guys by at least 8 points.

They have a problem.

 

- Two-time All-American sitting on the bench while DJ held the ball too long, made questionable decisions and Shockey made some plays to bail him out. Agreed w @catdaddyp either have DJ rush the ball more or time for #13.

 

Albany alum have spoke praises of Undercuffler. Give the kid a chance and see what he can do.

 

- Cam being the only RB was interesting. 
 

- Shockey is an NFL receiver.

 

- What’s good with the video board? No replays, no engagement for the fans. It was eerily quiet at times.

[MangoZip]

Agree, although Irons stats weren't bad I was very disappointed in his play. He has a cannon for an arm but has no touch and is not very accurate. Almost got a few receivers killed with his erratic throws. Seemed like he held the ball too long at times as well. He is a freak athlete for his size, if Joe keeps him as the QB I would create some plays to get him running with the ball. My two cents.. 

[LZIp]

Whether we want it or not, if the line doesn't step up (I am hopeful with the 2nd half play), then we will see #13 this year, as well as potentially the 3rd string QB.

[monrowe]

The football coach said this team is a work in progress.The football team doesn’t have the personnel to compete at every position.

 

[Zipmeister]

3 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Went back through and rewatched the game. Here’s my reflective take.

 

QB - Irons was far too inconsistent. I tallied up 23 for 30 with a clean pocket and 1 for 9 under pressure. He can’t miss on those wide open deep balls and also can’t take some of the sacks he took. If Irons can’t be more consistent, he either needs to be replaced or used more heavily as a runner.

 

RB - Wiley was ok. On the zone runs he has to be able to make at least one defender miss. He struggled to do that in the first half but did a better job in the second. Our OL also got more push in the second half, so that helped.

 

WR - This is an explosive group with SJL, George, Adams, Gathings, and Golden. Gathings may have dislocated or broken his finger in the 2nd quarter on the under thrown deep ball by Irons. No complaints here whatsoever.

 

TE - Brank and Banks make for a really nice duo. I expect them to see more balls come their way as the season wears on. Brank also had a few key blocks in the game.

 

OL - Mixed bag here. Williams and Whigan were excellent on the right side (RT and RG respectively). Daniels looked much better than Gray at LT. LG and C is where we struggled until the end of the 3rd quarter. Both centers Robarge and Georges were getting handled by those DTs the majority of the game. Banes at LG also had his issues. That area must improve for the run game to have success. 

DL - It’s clear that Jones, Harper, and Wilson are the best we saw up front. Toss a coin between Morton and Johnson at the other DE spot. 
 

LB - Bubba was Bubba. Terry should be starting beside him. Terry was in on almost every play, but didn’t always finish off the tackle. Fish is a time bomb waiting to happen- in a good way. He’s big, fast, and explosive. When the light goes on for him mentally, look out.

 

DB - Oh boy. Golden Nelson looked solid at one CB spot. JKP looked good at Safety and Darrian Lewis is a baller at Nickel who should never come off the field. Safety play besides JKP and the other CB spot was rough at times. Maybe Durant gets his chance to claim it now? The other S spot, I don’t know. Maybe Threatt will see time next week after mysteriously not seeing the field yesterday.

 

 

This team is better than last year despite what it may have seemed like yesterday. Still some questions that need to be answered though.

 

 

I also went back and rewatched the game, but I did so by viewing the the TV image in a mirror to form an even more reflective take.

Would it have killed somebody to give one or two of the other RBs a few snaps?

[catdaddyp]

19 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

 

I also went back and rewatched the game, but I did so by viewing the the TV image in a mirror to form an even more reflective take.

Would it have killed somebody to give one or two of the other RBs a few snaps?

Double reflection. Very nice.

 

No idea why Wiley was the only one who ran the ball. It’s not like he was doing anything special.

[LZIp]

Random thought, but we were missing what should be 5 starting caliber players on D, and probably at least 2 starters. Amankwaa was our best CB last year and he wasn't dressed, Richardson (who was sent to media day) wasn't dressed, and I don't believe Ravonte Holt was dressed. Robinson & Threatt were both dressed, but I don't believe either played at all (not even special teams IIRC). Wonder what's going on there.

 

Hopefully a couple of those guys can get back and be contributors or starters.

Edited September 4, 2022 by LZIp

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

Random thought, but we were missing what should be 5 starting caliber players on D, and probably at least 2 starters. Amankwaa was our best CB last year and he wasn't dressed, Richardson (who was sent to media day) wasn't dressed, and I don't believe Ravonte Holt was dressed. Robinson & Threatt were both dressed, but I don't believe either played at all (not even special teams IIRC). Wonder what's going on there.

 

Hopefully a couple of those guys can get back and be contributors or starters.

Holt probably won’t play until BG.

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

Random thought, but we were missing what should be 5 starting caliber players on D, and probably at least 2 starters. Amankwaa was our best CB last year and he wasn't dressed, Richardson (who was sent to media day) wasn't dressed, and I don't believe Ravonte Holt was dressed. Robinson & Threatt were both dressed, but I don't believe either played at all (not even special teams IIRC). Wonder what's going on there.

 

Hopefully a couple of those guys can get back and be contributors or starters.

Great question. I have to think Robinson and Holt could help us. I was surprised not to see Fann or Lawson get any PT. If they did, I missed it. 
 

Someone has to step up at the CB spot opposite Golden-Nelson. Not to mention depth needed there. I’d think Threatt would get a chance.

 

Safety spot opposite JKP also needs work. When we went man…it was ugly. 
 

I thought Hence did a nice job until he was injured, playing what I think was the Nickel when Thomas came out the game. Great seeing Lewis take advantage of his opportunity filling in for Hence.

 

Im guessing Richardson plays that hybrid OLB spot that Thomas was playing.

 

As for the new comers on D. I’m high on Golden-Nelson, Jones, Harper, Terry, and Fish. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

Holt likely won’t play until the MAC schedule begins.

[Zipmeister]

2 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Holt likely won’t play until the MAC schedule begins.

 

You've got some splainin to do Lucy.

[Hilltopper]

Until MAC play starts, don't expect to see too much.