Game 7- CMU

[ZippyRulz]

 

[GP1]

Akron only possessed the ball for 22 minutes and only ran 53 plays. 53 plays per game is something you would not see even in stat lines from the 1960s. 

[72 Roo]

I am seeing a trend that has me increasingly troubled and that is the coaching staff seems to be reconciled to a miserable year that they just have to get through. Last year, with considerably worse talent we saw the team improve over the season. That is not happening this year. Special teams are inconsistent. They can't punt or kick FG's effectively. The play calling does not reflect a philosophy that creatively plays to our strengths and capabilities. The OL is mired in non-performance. The QB situation was a problem before the season that the coaches knew was coming. They knew before us! They saw Irons injuries. They saw Taj was not a thrower. They saw we had no depth. Little was done other than employing hope and hope is not a strategy for success. Joe can solve this. I still support him. It can be turned around. But Joe, I've got a lot of questions for you! 

[clarkwgriswold]

Good Lord, just a week ago nearly everyone was b!+ch!ng about how bad Irons was and now we're clamoring for him as the guy they could be winning games with.  Welcome to Zips football.

[GP1]

3 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

I am seeing a trend that has me increasingly troubled and that is the coaching staff seems to be reconciled to a miserable year that they just have to get through. Last year, with considerably worse talent we saw the team improve over the season. That is not happening this year. Special teams are inconsistent. They can't punt or kick FG's effectively. The play calling does not reflect a philosophy that creatively plays to our strengths and capabilities. The OL is mired in non-performance. The QB situation was a problem before the season that the coaches knew was coming. They knew before us! They saw Irons injuries. They saw Taj was not a thrower. They saw we had no depth. Little was done other than employing hope and hope is not a strategy for success. Joe can solve this. I still support him. It can be turned around. But Joe, I've got a lot of questions for you! 

The oline is a huge problem. Yesterday, CMU brought a lot of pressure and they couldn't execute on a basic play like a screen pass to back off the pressure some. 

 

The team is currently swamped in failure. They should have 3 more wins and don't. I don't know how they solve their current problems and actually win games. I don't mean score a TD or two more a game, rush for more yards or complete a few more passes, but actually win. 

[dre22era]

Hire Overrated Coaches who don't recruit locally and Defend them = Thats what we do best 

[GP1]

5 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Good Lord, just a week ago nearly everyone was b!+ch!ng about how bad Irons was and now we're clamoring for him as the guy they could be winning games with.  Welcome to Zips football.

Define "everyone" please. 

[GoZips86]

8 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Good Lord, just a week ago nearly everyone was b!+ch!ng about how bad Irons was and now we're clamoring for him as the guy they could be winning games with.  Welcome to Zips football.

 

Again, put Jennings or Wasel in. The "saviour" JoeMo should realize by now this season is lost. Since he took multiple visits to Columbus to recruit Jennings and to Oklahoma for Wasel, maybe he should see what he actually has in them instead of trusting Mr. Interception (Undercuffler) and Bullock. Heck, as a fan one of them starting would make me want to tune in to see what they have. 

[GP1]

5 minutes ago, dre22era said:

Hire Overrated Coaches who don't recruit locally and Defend them = Thats what we do best 

https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/football/roster

 

This is a roster of one of the top 3 teams in the MAC. They just became eligible for a bowl 7 games into the season. They made a bowl for the 8th time in 9 years. They have some.local players.but don't rely on them. 

 

They aren't doing well because they recruit locally. The are doing well because they recruit good players who fit their system. 

[GoZips86]

11 minutes ago, dre22era said:

Hire Overrated Coaches who don't recruit locally and Defend them = Thats what we do best 

 

But..but...ITS ARTHS FAULT!!!...

[zippy-claws]

6 minutes ago, GP1 said:

https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/football/roster

 

This is a roster of one of the top 3 teams in the MAC. They just became eligible for a bowl 7 games into the season. They made a bowl for the 8th time in 9 years. They have some.local players.but don't rely on them. 

 

They aren't doing well because they recruit locally. The are doing well because they recruit good players who fit their system. 

AMEN!!!  So tired of the "local talent" BS spewed here all the time.  Take the time like @GP1 did and look at all the rosters for MAC teams, BIG10 teams, Cincy, WVU, Marshall, Dayton, and tell me where our local talent is represented.  Through in Pitt too.  I did this for the Women's soccer thread, albeit smaller rosters, and you need to face the fact that the "local talent" myth that @dre22era believes in, including hiring the Hoban coach is a fantasy.

[GP1]

4 minutes ago, zippy-claws said:

AMEN!!!  So tired of the "local talent" BS spewed here all the time.  Take the time like @GP1 did and look at all the rosters for MAC teams, BIG10 teams, Cincy, WVU, Marshall, Dayton, and tell me where our local talent is represented.  Through in Pitt too.  I did this for the Women's soccer thread, albeit smaller rosters, and you need to face the fact that the "local talent" myth that @dre22era believes in, including hiring the Hoban coach is a fantasy.

There isn't enough high level local talent anywhere to produce a high quality G5 program. Everywhere in the country, people from that part of the country overestimate the quality of high school athletes of all types. The same thing happens here in South Carolina where I live. Everyone thinks Clemson and SC can live on local players alone and that simply isn't the case. This is a small population state incapable of making 2 P5 schools elite programs. 

[clarkwgriswold]

I'd like to see the kids from the area that end up at other similar schools stick around to play at Akron but: 1) there aren't that many of them, 2) often, kids want to spread their wings and go away, and 3) why would a kid want to commit to a program as bad as the Zips' right now? 

[LZIp]

36 minutes ago, GP1 said:

https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/football/roster

 

This is a roster of one of the top 3 teams in the MAC. They just became eligible for a bowl 7 games into the season. They made a bowl for the 8th time in 9 years. They have some.local players.but don't rely on them. 

 

They aren't doing well because they recruit locally. The are doing well because they recruit good players who fit their system. 

And it took Miami a few years to get out of the dumpster. Martin was awfully close to getting fired.

[Zippyroo]

3 hours ago, GP1 said:

Don't know what a fanboy is, but I think he's our best shot at resurrecting the program. Akron is in a position where the president, AD and head coach are all in alignment. This is typically a winning situation. 

 

Akron should have 3 more wins this season and the failures fall on the shoulders of some of the players, and veterans as well. At least Joe put the team in a position to win. He can't kick or throw the ball. 

 

My biggest complaint about him is what looks like a failure to have "his guy" on the field playing QB. Maybe the combination doesn't stop at the head coach, but looks something like this  President -AD-Coach-QB. 

Failures fall on the players???  Really?  Failure to win falls directly on the coaches and admin.  The only improvement I see is on the defense.  Moorhead was supposed to be this offensive savior and we are no better off than we were under Arth.  In fact Arth was starting to turn things around when they canned him after only a couple of years…I don’t see that happening under Moorhead.  There will be a mass exodus of talent this year just like in years past….

[Sergeant Zip]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

Akron only possessed the ball for 22 minutes and only ran 53 plays. 53 plays per game is something you would not see even in stat lines from the 1960s. 

Exactly, CMU had 50 rushes alone.

[GP1]

1 hour ago, Sergeant Zip said:

Exactly, CMU had 50 rushes alone.

Based on what NIU did to them, can you blame them. 

[catdaddyp]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

The oline is a huge problem. Yesterday, CMU brought a lot of pressure and they couldn't execute on a basic play like a screen pass to back off the pressure some. 

 

The team is currently swamped in failure. They should have 3 more wins and don't. I don't know how they solve their current problems and actually win games. I don't mean score a TD or two more a game, rush for more yards or complete a few more passes, but actually win. 

Hard to believe, but the OL statistically had it’s best game in pass protection. 15 total pressures allowed. Not great, but the best we’ve seen this season. Just goes to show how bad the QB play was.

 

Can’t change the whole offensive scheme at this point and I’m not sure the staff would anyway. I expect teams will continue to stack the box when Bullock is in at QB. I thought a running game with Bullock would be the way to go. Yet when we needed to throw the ball, he struggled to put even the simplest of passes on point. A QB that can’t make the easy throws isn’t much of a QB. At least when Undercuffler was in some running lanes opened up for Lingard. I’m with you, I’m not sure if the QB problems will be solved this year. It looked like receivers were getting open, but we don’t have a QB that can consistently get them the ball while not turning it over. Add poor/late decisions in the equation and it’s a tough place to be when the whole offensive scheme is quarterback driven.

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by catdaddyp

[GP1]

1 hour ago, Zippyroo said:

Failures fall on the players???  Really?  Failure to win falls directly on the coaches and admin.  The only improvement I see is on the defense.  Moorhead was supposed to be this offensive savior and we are no better off than we were under Arth.  In fact Arth was starting to turn things around when they canned him after only a couple of years…I don’t see that happening under Moorhead.  There will be a mass exodus of talent this year just like in years past….

The coach and administration didn't overthrow wide open receivers and miss game winning field goals. It's 2023 and players get to be on TV every game, cut NIL deals and transfer at will. With all of that comes a heightened level of criticism. 

 

The public face of failure is the coach. Behind closed doors, everyone knows why and who lost those three games. 

[GP1]

8 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

Hard to believe, but the OL statistically had it best game in pass protection. 15 total pressures allowed. Not great, but the best we’ve seen this season. Just goes to show how bad the QB play was.

 

Take away one 27 yard run and it's less than 50 yards running. I'd love to know what their average yards per play on each down was, especially first down. Too often they are in second and long. 

 

There is just so much wrong with the offense. I think it has to do with an inability to complete passes down field for a number of reasons. Defenses can focus on stopping the running game and shorter passes. The running game would be better with an offense stretching the defense. At a minimum, the defense couldn't be so aggressive against Akron at the line. 

[GP1]

4 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

Everyone on this board watched Bullock for 7 quarters and came to the same opinion, he is not a division one quarterback. What is he doing in practice to get the confidence of the coaches?  

If you are in the woods and be chased by a bear, do you have to be faster than the bear or just faster than your camping partner? Bullock just has to be better than the 4th QB. 

[Zip JD]

6 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said:

in all honesty, Morehead might not be better than Arth, but he's certainly not worse - both can be buns

He’s better than Arth who posted losing records anywhere he was outside of D3 John Carroll.  Joe was excellent at Fordham and was 14-12 in the SEC.  

 

Coach Joe has been hurt by Recruiter Joe.   Not a news flash for ZNO that he needs to find us a QB.  You cannot tell me there was anything to build on when Joe arrived.  The cupboard was bare.  The D (even after NIU) is much improved and with a QB Joe is the best bet to fix this.  Tell me who you would hire if you were the AD.  

Edited October 15, 2023 by Zip JD

[Zippyroo]

30 minutes ago, GP1 said:

The coach and administration didn't overthrow wide open receivers and miss game winning field goals. It's 2023 and players get to be on TV every game, cut NIL deals and transfer at will. With all of that comes a heightened level of criticism. 

 

The public face of failure is the coach. Behind closed doors, everyone knows why and who lost those three games. 

Yes, but ultimately these are mostly Moorhead’s guys as they have chased out all but a handful of kids from the Arth era.  Moorhead has dug deep into portal for kids with no success, ultimately playing them over talent that was there that I feel could have done better in several positions.  Look at all the players that have left the past few years that have gone on to bigger programs and who are playing at their new schools.  Position coaches are not doing him any favors either.  Ultimately, it’s the coaches responsibility to get these kids prepared and keep the talent he has. Moorhead is just not getting the job done, period end of story. 
 

and I do not buy NIL deals and transfer portal as a reason for program failure. Every other team has to work within these boundaries as well. 

[Zipsfan10]

6 hours ago, GP1 said:

If Akron doesn't win at least 5 games next year, the JoeMo years will begin to crumble. They will lose players and not be able to replace them. They will also begin to lose critical coaches and not fill the spots with anyone as good. Programs foundations are built on more than players. 

 

If Wasel was Joe's guy, he should have started the season. Redshirting is an antiquated concept in 2023. I've never seen him play, but he couldn't beat out the 3 bums we have started this year?  It's concerning. 

 

The Bullock disaster is a good learning lesson for fans. Just because a player transfers from a school you have heard of and was once good, that doesn't mean the player is good. There are lots of failed scholarship players at big schools. The schools the transfer portal benefits the most are the P5 schools, especially the elite programs. It's a place they can dump their trash and replace with a better opportunity. Every once in a while, someone finds something really valuable at the landfill. We have to be smart about what we bring home from the landfill. 

I don’t believe Wasel was given that opportunity.  Could be wrong.  I do know Wasel stated he came to Akron because he strongly believed in Moorehead’s offensive philosophy and what he could do within it.  He did very well at the 6A HS level on a team with a weaker OL and excels at improvising. That’s evident in his HS film. It’s also evident he’s a competitor that was able to win with mostly mediocre surrounding talent.  I’m sure he has a lot still to learn to excel at the D1 level at the same capacity. Not sure why more opportunities for development haven’t been given to these young guys, given the situation. That’s the question. Probably a reason and I’d sure like to hear the answer. 

[GP1]

8 minutes ago, Zippyroo said:

Yes, but ultimately these are mostly Moorhead’s guys as they have chased out all but a handful of kids from the Arth era.  Moorhead has dug deep into portal for kids with no success, ultimately playing them over talent that was there that I feel could have done better in several positions.  Look at all the players that have left the past few years that have gone on to bigger programs and who are playing at their new schools.  Position coaches are not doing him any favors either.  Ultimately, it’s the coaches responsibility to get these kids prepared and keep the talent he has. Moorhead is just not getting the job done, period end of story. 
 

and I do not buy NIL deals and transfer portal as a reason for program failure. Every other team has to work within these boundaries as well. 

A team is more than one person and the failures this season are widespread. 

 

I don't blame nil or tp for our failures either.