Game 6 Thoughts

[catdaddyp]

OFFENSE

473 yards of total offense and 34 points should be enough to win most games, but unfortunately that was not the case yesterday. The only plays calls I was critical of were the reverses that we tried several times for little to negative success. The staff must’ve seen something on film they liked with the reverses, but it did not translate to the game.

 

QUARTERBACK: Irons was excellent outside of the meaningless interception on the last drive. Some of the throws he made across field, from the opposite hash, were really impressive. Not all D1 QBs can make those throws successfully. Irons was patient, moved around well in the pocket, and made solid decisions with the ball. His running ability continues to give the offense an extra dimension that has to be accounted for by the defense.

 

RUNNING BACK: The more I watch Price, the more I like him. He does so many little things well. Watching him squeeze to his blockers and hit the next gear at the right time was great to see. Price did a solid job in pass pro as well. When Price isn’t getting hit in the backfield, he almost always collects positive yardage. It was good to see Norrils get a few carries and hopefully that will continue.

 

WIDE RECEIVER: What an impressive display by these guys. They created separation all game long and made some difficult catches. George’s catch across the middle of the field in between several defenders - wow.

 

TIGHT END: Both Banks and Brank were heavily involved in the pass and run game. They totaled 8 catches between them. We had some success running the ball on the double TE sets and I hope we see more of that.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters were Daniels, Banes, Georges, Whigan, Williams. Landers was inserted at LT early and was impressive. It’s only a matter of time before he’s the starter there. Robarge subbed at both guard positions and was solid. Kilbane saw some snaps at C. 
 

 

 

DEFENSE

I don’t even know where to start. Ohio hit us on a few calls which happens no matter who the opponent is, but overall I thought the DC put the defense in a position to be successful on most plays. I’m not totally sure what the heart of the issue is outside of talent level, but I’ll touch on a few points below.

 

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jones, Harper, Thomas, Morton started. Holt saw more playing time than Harper, despite not being a starter and did some good things. Thomas was double teamed a heavy amount. There are either some trust issues or a lack of understanding going on. To give an example, there was one play where Morton demolished the tight end’s block and had the QB stuck in the mud on a designed run, but instead of keeping outside leverage, Morton dove inside where he already had LB and S help. The QB was then able to get to the edge and gain the first down. Other issues that are common are overrunning the play when pursing into the backfield and allowing the play to come right back underneath. The linebacker/safety/nickel (depending on alignment) should be there but they are getting taken out the play in some fashion…usually by their own doing.

 

LINEBACKER: Bubba is Bubba and continues to get the most out of his ability. He understands football and almost always smells out the play. Boateng started beside Bubba and was rough to watch. Boateng has plenty of physical ability but seems to lack intuition or know where the play is going the majority of the time. I lost count of the times when he should have been filling in to stop the run and was MIA. Terry did some good things and should be starting with Bubba. It’s exciting to see the potential of Fish and McCoy, but they are still learning and can get their eyes in the wrong place at times, which leads to busted plays.

 

SECONDARY: Thompson had a strong game. I was critical of him earlier in the year, but he is one player in the secondary that has taken it up a notch. Martin missed way too many tackles and is not physical enough at times. JKP seems to be regressing. Our cornerback play is flat out disappointing. Hooks’, who has plenty of physical ability, was beaten a number of times. I watched one play where he was lined up several yards off the LOS, the WR ran a hitch route and somehow Hooks ended up 8-9 yards off the receiver on that move. To add insult to injury, he then missed the tackle. Durant was picked on again. We saw Hence get physically outmatched on a TD throw as well. Hence was with the receiver step for step until the receiver simply shoved him off at the top of the route and created separation in a legal way. Lewis helped in the run game, but also missed a sack opportunity. He was not as strong in the passing game.

 

 

We need to improve in all areas defensively. Not every team will have a QB on the same level as Rourke, but the defense cannot play that poorly again. When we blitz and do not reach the quarterback it ends up being a big play almost every time. I still think we will win some games this year, but the defense must improve. While we may not have a top level MAC defense, I do not believe they are as bad as what we saw yesterday. If they can give this offense a chance, good things will happen.

Edited October 9, 2022 by catdaddyp

[LoyalZIP]

Always spot on, thank you very much for making this board better every week!

[Cliff]

Don't understand why Bubba is not on the field more? 

[Z.I.P.]

13 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

OFFENSE

473 yards of total offense and 34 points should be enough to win most games, but unfortunately that was not the case yesterday. The only plays calls I was critical of were the reverses that we tried several times for little to negative success. The staff must’ve seen something on film they liked with the reverses, but it did not translate to the game.

 

QUARTERBACK: Irons was excellent outside of the meaningless interception on the last drive. Some of the throws he made across field, from the opposite hash, were really impressive. Not all D1 QBs can make those throws successfully. Irons was patient, moved around well in the pocket, and made solid decisions with the ball. His running ability continues to give the offense an extra dimension that has to be accounted for by the defense.

 

RUNNING BACK: The more I watch Price, the more I like him. He does so many little things well. Watching him squeeze to his blockers and hit the next gear at the right time was great to see. Price did a solid job in pass pro as well. When Price isn’t getting hit in the backfield, he almost always collects positive yardage. It was good to see Norrils get a few carries and hopefully that will continue.

 

WIDE RECEIVER: What an impressive display by these guys. They created separation all game long and made some difficult catches. George’s catch across the middle of the field in between several defenders - wow.

 

TIGHT END: Both Banks and Brank were heavily involved in the pass and run game. They totaled 8 catches between them. We had some success running the ball on the double TE sets and I hope we see more of that.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters were Daniels, Banes, Georges, Whigan, Williams. Landers was inserted at LT early and was impressive. It’s only a matter of time before he’s the starter there. Robarge subbed at both guard positions and was solid. Kilbane saw some snaps at C. 
 

 

 

DEFENSE

I don’t even know where to start. Ohio hit us on a few calls which happens no matter who the opponent is, but overall I thought the DC put the defense in a position to be successful on most plays. I’m not totally sure what the heart of the issue is outside of talent level, but I’ll touch on a few points below.

 

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jones, Harper, Thomas, Morton started. Holt saw more playing time than Harper, despite not being a starter and did some good things. Thomas was double teamed a heavy amount. There are either some trust issues or a lack of understanding going on. To give an example, there was one play where Morton demolished the tight end’s block and had the QB stuck in the mud on a designed run, but instead of keeping outside leverage, Morton dove inside where he already had LB and S help. The QB was then able to get to the edge and gain the first down. Other issues that are common are overrunning the play when pursing into the backfield and allowing the play to come right back underneath. The linebacker/safety/nickel (depending on alignment) should be there but they are getting taken out the play in some fashion…usually by their own doing.

 

LINEBACKER: Bubba is Bubba and continues to get the most out of his ability. He understands football and almost always smells out the play. Boateng started beside Bubba and was rough to watch. Boateng has plenty of physical ability but seems to lack intuition or know where the play is going the majority of the time. I lost count of the times when he should have been filling in to stop the run and was MIA. Terry did some good things and should be starting with Bubba. It’s exciting to see the potential of Fish and McCoy, but they are still learning and can get their eyes in the wrong place at times, which leads to busted plays.

 

SECONDARY: Thompson had a strong game. I was critical of him earlier in the year, but he is one player in the secondary that has taken it up a notch. Martin missed way too many tackles and is not physical enough at times. JKP seems to be regressing. Our cornerback play is flat out disappointing. Hooks’, who has plenty of physical ability, was beaten a number of times. I watched one play where he was lined up several yards off the LOS, the WR ran a hitch route and somehow Hooks ended up 8-9 yards off the receiver on that move. To add insult to injury, he then missed the tackle. Durant was picked on again. We saw Hence get physically outmatched on a TD throw as well. Hence was with the receiver step for step until the receiver simply shoved him off at the top of the route and created separation in a legal way. Lewis helped in the run game, but also missed a sack opportunity. He was not as strong in the passing game.

 

 

We need to improve in all areas defensively. Not every team will have a QB on the same level as Rourke, but the defense cannot play that poorly again. When we blitz and do not reach the quarterback it ends up being a big play almost every time. I still think we will win some games this year, but the defense must improve. While we may not have a top level MAC defense, I do not believe they are as bad as what we saw yesterday. If they can give this offense a chance, good things will happen.

CatDaddy (candidly), you should be the color commentator on the broadcast, but that would put the King of Jackson Twp out of work!  lol

[LoyalZIP]

This week's advanced box score: https://collegefootballdata.com/boxscore/401416616

 

(Added glossary for reference on some of the metrics): https://collegefootballdata.com/glossary

 

It certainly doesn't feel like it when the defense is such a sieve and playing from behind the entire game, but the offense really was impressive on Saturday. They were very explosive. The Zips got the ball inside the OU 40-yard line on their first 5 drives, cashing in with a pair of field goals and a pair of TDs. They were moving the ball well on their first drive, but failed on 4th & 2. I wasn't a fan of the play call there, and the double reverse whatever the hell that resulted in a big loss at another point in the first half. The Zips move too slow on these plays and with that, the D can see what's going on and get a step ahead. You can see that with some of the WR screens and swings, just slow developing, too much thinking going on instead of just making the throw and making the play. With time this year and in the future, those should iron themselves out a bit. 

 

The Zips had 33 first downs! Wow!  However, there were a few situations, a couple down on the goal line, where they were unable to get what they needed to. The Zips regressed to 3-10 on third down. On both drives that resulted in FGs, the Zips had either 1st & Goal or 1st & 10 inside the 15, and they either went backwards or didn't get close to the end zone. This goes back to what we've seen most of the season, in an inability to spread it out and run the routes these receivers are good at running. I'd like to see Banks and Brank more involved down here. The trick play Joe ran against SFU with Brank lining up at tackle is one I'm surprised we haven't seen more of. The best defenses in college football have trouble with that one.

 

Defensively, wow. Just so, so bad. I'm fine if teams make nice plays and just beat you, but Ohio did things in the secondary with ease. On the perimeter, they weren't getting a ton of success, but once they ran over the middle of the field, it was like playing Madden on Rookie difficulty for Rourke. DB is probably the toughest position on the field other than QB, as there's a very thin margin for error. And these guys weren't making anything tough for OU. Just a recipe for disaster. In a couple of weeks, Kent will feast on these guys. On top of that, even when the D does make stops, it feels as though they get lucky more than anything. Perhaps the opponent has a bad play call or misses something, but the Zips do not create opportunities on defense. Against BG, the pick they got was a nice play, but more as a result of a bad throw. The pick @ Liberty was beautiful, opportunistic defense to get pressure on the QB and give the secondary a chance to make a play. With no pressure and no push, teams are going to be able to do what they want. It's not helpful to say "GO GET TURNOVERS!!!!" because there's so much more that goes into it. Actually forcing the QB or pass-catchers or ball-carriers to be uncomfortable can make good things happen.

 

The bottom line is, one of these days the Zips will have to come out of the gate on top and take momentum. For 6 straight games, they've come out flat (SFU) or just shot themselves in the foot before all of the fans have even made it into the stadium. Ideally, it would be nice to start a game with the ball, have a nice, long scoring drive to set the tone, and give the defense a lead to play with. Maybe that will help with playing more loosely. To me, this is overall a much improved team and program, but they really, REALLY, do not know how to win football games. CMU coming in this week has had similar troubles. They're more talented than the Zips, but have dug themselves in holes early in ball games, and find themselves having a disappointing and difficult year.

 

The last FBS team that fans saw the Zips beat at Infocision....the Central Michigan Chippewas in 2018. 

[Lee Adams]

19 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

OFFENSE

473 yards of total offense and 34 points should be enough to win most games, but unfortunately that was not the case yesterday. The only plays calls I was critical of were the reverses that we tried several times for little to negative success. The staff must’ve seen something on film they liked with the reverses, but it did not translate to the game.

 

QUARTERBACK: Irons was excellent outside of the meaningless interception on the last drive. Some of the throws he made across field, from the opposite hash, were really impressive. Not all D1 QBs can make those throws successfully. Irons was patient, moved around well in the pocket, and made solid decisions with the ball. His running ability continues to give the offense an extra dimension that has to be accounted for by the defense.

 

RUNNING BACK: The more I watch Price, the more I like him. He does so many little things well. Watching him squeeze to his blockers and hit the next gear at the right time was great to see. Price did a solid job in pass pro as well. When Price isn’t getting hit in the backfield, he almost always collects positive yardage. It was good to see Norrils get a few carries and hopefully that will continue.

 

WIDE RECEIVER: What an impressive display by these guys. They created separation all game long and made some difficult catches. George’s catch across the middle of the field in between several defenders - wow.

 

TIGHT END: Both Banks and Brank were heavily involved in the pass and run game. They totaled 8 catches between them. We had some success running the ball on the double TE sets and I hope we see more of that.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters were Daniels, Banes, Georges, Whigan, Williams. Landers was inserted at LT early and was impressive. It’s only a matter of time before he’s the starter there. Robarge subbed at both guard positions and was solid. Kilbane saw some snaps at C. 
 

 

 

DEFENSE

I don’t even know where to start. Ohio hit us on a few calls which happens no matter who the opponent is, but overall I thought the DC put the defense in a position to be successful on most plays. I’m not totally sure what the heart of the issue is outside of talent level, but I’ll touch on a few points below.

 

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jones, Harper, Thomas, Morton started. Holt saw more playing time than Harper, despite not being a starter and did some good things. Thomas was double teamed a heavy amount. There are either some trust issues or a lack of understanding going on. To give an example, there was one play where Morton demolished the tight end’s block and had the QB stuck in the mud on a designed run, but instead of keeping outside leverage, Morton dove inside where he already had LB and S help. The QB was then able to get to the edge and gain the first down. Other issues that are common are overrunning the play when pursing into the backfield and allowing the play to come right back underneath. The linebacker/safety/nickel (depending on alignment) should be there but they are getting taken out the play in some fashion…usually by their own doing.

 

LINEBACKER: Bubba is Bubba and continues to get the most out of his ability. He understands football and almost always smells out the play. Boateng started beside Bubba and was rough to watch. Boateng has plenty of physical ability but seems to lack intuition or know where the play is going the majority of the time. I lost count of the times when he should have been filling in to stop the run and was MIA. Terry did some good things and should be starting with Bubba. It’s exciting to see the potential of Fish and McCoy, but they are still learning and can get their eyes in the wrong place at times, which leads to busted plays.

 

SECONDARY: Thompson had a strong game. I was critical of him earlier in the year, but he is one player in the secondary that has taken it up a notch. Martin missed way too many tackles and is not physical enough at times. JKP seems to be regressing. Our cornerback play is flat out disappointing. Hooks’, who has plenty of physical ability, was beaten a number of times. I watched one play where he was lined up several yards off the LOS, the WR ran a hitch route and somehow Hooks ended up 8-9 yards off the receiver on that move. To add insult to injury, he then missed the tackle. Durant was picked on again. We saw Hence get physically outmatched on a TD throw as well. Hence was with the receiver step for step until the receiver simply shoved him off at the top of the route and created separation in a legal way. Lewis helped in the run game, but also missed a sack opportunity. He was not as strong in the passing game.

 

 

We need to improve in all areas defensively. Not every team will have a QB on the same level as Rourke, but the defense cannot play that poorly again. When we blitz and do not reach the quarterback it ends up being a big play almost every time. I still think we will win some games this year, but the defense must improve. While we may not have a top level MAC defense, I do not believe they are as bad as what we saw yesterday. If they can give this offense a chance, good things will happen.

If it makes you feel any better the Browns are having the same types of problems on defense.😵

[GoZips86]

The same mistakes are costing this team each game. Well, a poor defense is too, but the self-inflicted wounds don't help. I just need to remember its year # 1 of a JoeMo rebuild. It's not fun, but will hopefully be worth it. And, I need to stop pulling my hair out during games 😛 

 

I just long for the Zips to be competitive and a front runner in the MAC again. 

[kreed5120]

My game 6 thoughts is Joe Mo is creating a fun offense that should be one of the best, if not the best in the MAC, in the coming years. I can see how this would be attractive place to play for skilled position players who want an opportunity to showcase their talents.

 

On the defensive side of the ball I suppose the bright side is it can't possibly get any worse...

[clarkwgriswold]

I think Bubba's situation is a familiar one.  He's a kid who they didn't recruit that appears undersized and not particularly fast.  He doesn't have the measurables and that's where many coaches start when reviewing kids that aren't "their's."

 

I see a player who is aggressive and never out of position that has stuck it out through now 3 coaching staffs and has the track record to be on the field.  I've also seen nothing special in the players he's sharing time with.  As such, I'd only have him off of the field for breathers.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'm surprised, with the size and maturity of the guys we brought in on the DL, that's they have been so ineffective. I thought they'd make up for the thin talent at LB and DB, but it hasn't happened. 

 

The last non-BG D1 team we beat was CMU four years ago. Hopefully another Chipps "L" can bookend our 1,400+ day trail of tears, and we're subsequently poised for back-to-back "W's" on the 22nd!

 

Hey, I can dream... 😀

 

[Blue & Gold]

37 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I'm surprised, with the size and maturity of the guys we brought in on the DL, that's they have been so ineffective. I thought they'd make up for the thin talent at LB and DB, but it hasn't happened. 

Agreed. I can't believe how bad our defense is. There's no excuse for it. 

Victor Jones & Zach Morton should be top MAC DE's.

Curtis Harper & Kyle Thomas seem to be pretty good DT's.  Add in Opening Day starter Logan Hawkins & Ravontae Holt for depth.

Bubba is one of the better LB's in the MAC & place either Boateng or Terry beside him & that's a more-than-serviceable LB crew.

No one in the MAC should be running the ball on us.  Especially like OU just did.  No excuse.

 

Our defensive backfield is a problem.  But with that front 6 we should be stuffing the run & getting more QB pressure than we are to take pressure of our below average DB crew.  Let me just say that I love #24 Darrien Lewis... and #16 Nate Thompson has stepped up his game.  But... Jaylen Kelly-Powell seems like a great young man but he's never impressed me much at S, and two transfers that I thought were going to make a dramatic impact this year, CB Cam Threatt and S KJ Martin, have been... umm,... underwhelming.  I can't get down on #28 Tyson Durant because one, he's a local product, and two, he's a former walk-on. If a former walk-on is the best we can field, then... I can't get down on Durant.  Hooks is another disappointment.  He's a physical specimen but teams have been picking on him for years.  I remember a game at UMass a few years ago where the UMass receiver out-fought hooks for a TD catch.  The UMass-homer announcers said UMass players hadn't been able to out-athlete teams before so they were glad to see that.  Idk, I digress.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

If it makes you feel any better the Browns are having the same types of problems on defense.😵

 

Let's just hope JoeMo isn't like Stefanski and does nothing about the mediocrity on Defense/Special Teams. 

[catdaddyp]

On 10/9/2022 at 9:00 PM, Cliff said:

Don't understand why Bubba is not on the field more? 

Good question. I’m not sure what the thought process is behind his playing time. Bubba is 2nd in the MAC in overall tackles with 64. To give an idea just how impressive Bubba has been, the MAC tackles leader Shaun Dolac (Buffalo) has 67. Dolac has played over 135 more snaps than Bubba. 

Edited October 11, 2022 by catdaddyp

[LZIp]

I as well sometimes wonder why Bubba isn’t on the field more. The only thing I’d assume is that it’s to keep him fresh. Speaking of Bubba, during the Liberty game,unsure if I misheard or the announcers got it mixed up, but I recall them indicating Bubba got a medical redshirt last year and could come back next? If so, huge. For some reason I thought  this would have been his last year regardless.

 

I think we really need him on the field as much as possible though. Behm hasn’t stepped up after showing some flashes last year.

Edited October 11, 2022 by LZIp

[catdaddyp]

28 minutes ago, LZIp said:

I as well sometimes wonder why Bubba isn’t on the field more. The only thing I’d assume is that it’s to keep him fresh. Speaking of Bubba, during the Liberty game,unsure if I misheard or the announcers got it mixed up, but I recall them indicating Bubba got a medical redshirt last year and could come back next? If so, huge. For some reason I thought  this would have been his last year regardless.

 

I think we really need him on the field as much as possible though. Behm hasn’t stepped up after showing some flashes last year.

That’d be great if Bubba returned next year. It’s hard to fool him on anything due to his experience. Although, I really like the flashes I’ve seen from Fish and McCoy. They are physically impressive and when the light finally goes on for them they are going to wreck shop.

 

My only gripe about Bubba is he’s not a great pass rusher. When Bubba and Behm are in the game, they rarely get close to the QB when blitzing. There is a significant difference in pass rush when Fish and McCoy are blitzing.

 

Neither Behm or Boateng have gotten the job done, but they continue to see a good amount of playing time. Boateng has really only had one solid game this year.

 

 

[bigjim]

1 hour ago, catdaddyp said:

Good question. I’m not sure what the thought process is behind his playing time. Bubba is 2nd in the MAC in overall tackles with 64. To give an idea just how impressive Bubba has been, the MAC tackles leader Shaun Dolac (Buffalo) has 67. Dolac has played over 135 more snaps than Bubba. 

Easy answer on the thought process.  Most new (college and NFL) football coaches come into a program and say that all of the previous team is bad (a lot of truth in Akron's case).  They want to replace everyone on the team.  There are always some casualties, and Bubba is one.  Look at all of the (P5) transfer brought in that get preferred PT, and the results are awful.  Bubba is/has been the heart and soul of the D.  He deserves better.

Go Zips!!!

[94zipgrad]