Let Superman Run the Team !!!

[Z-P]

Sad.

I feel badly for the seniors. Especially Basch.

Is it possible 5 and Blackie could do a better job of placing, directing and motivating talent than the staff at this point? I mean those two have been side by side with these guys for 4 or 5 years..........know what they can and can't do.

I'm not saying that the new guys won't be a good staff in time, it's just that nothing is working right..........and I don't see it getting better.

I'm thinking I messed up. I thought 5 should come back, fully expecting the O-line to be a year better, the defense to be a year better, and the new staff to be better than the old one. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying, but I'm not so sure that the new staff is all that great...............yet..............they are rookies...........and this is a learning curve for them too............. I KNOW the O-line is garbage and the defense sucks.

Know what really makes me crazy? We've got some outstanding athletes on the team. They're just not being put into a position to make a difference. Biggs, Hickson, Charlie, Blackie, others..............

More later...............

Go Zips..........beat the Buffs...........

[Zipsrifle]

Yea, I feel bad for Frye. He could be a millionaire right now. I respect that he came back, but I REALLY hope that his decision doesn't mean he'll be sitting behind a desk somewhere next season.

[2005PANTHER]

I agree on that, but I think somebody will take Charlie and he'll get to shine and prove to everyone how good he is.

[Guest n/a]

I feel your pain but it would not matter who the coaches are, the thing that is killing Akron is turnovers and lack of leadership.

Against Penn State, MTSU and now NIU the Zips have turned the ball over in the first 5 minutes of the game and given the opposition easy points. The offensive line gave up 6 sacks today. They are truly offensive in every sense of the word.

Frye has no confidence in his receivers. On the first play of the game he underthrew Hixson by a good 5 yards. Had the ball been thrown with a little lead it would have been six. Onstead it was an incomplete pass and the next play the fumble came.

Right now Frye has no confidence and this Offense looks awful. Hard to have confidence when you turn the ball over and are running for your life behind the 5 black holes up front. On the positive side no INT today for Frye which is impressive because as much as he was getting hammered today he was shaking that injured throwing finger after every play - that has got to hurt. Too bad the front does not respond to their leader's example.

The kick coverage is terrible. Whomever the coach is on this group should be gutted. Three punts returned for TDs in 5 games.

I respect your loyalty to the older guys Z-P but "Blackie" is a step short every time he gets in the pocket. After watching the game on the tube today I would move him inside and let him rush from the down low because his lack of speed is hurting the defense on the edge. Blackburn is the ultimate tin man - he cannot move and is a liability. Just being big is not enough.

Can't figure out where you want Biggs to play other than at TB... he's too short for any where else and he's the only player who can run the ball...Frye to play other than at QB...?... or Hixson to play other than WR - he's the best WR Akron has.

I like Biggs, Arthur at WR, Pace at DB, and #39 on special teams - he always hits someone. Where did Goodwin go? He has speed but is never in the game. After teh display at Can't I was surprised to see Ellington on the field because he cannot catch and proved that again today. #81 looked off as well - must still be suffereing effects from the concussion against Can't.

[Z-P]

Oops..........my bad.

Just to clarify my comments, all I had to follow the game by yesterday was Frenchy's call on 1350...........no view down here. Can't see everyting, and you know how dirty his specs can get.

BTW, Stams is terrible. And another thing you guys who watched the game might not be aware of..........several times during the game Frenchy said something to this effect "the next 6 games are against competition more on our level" "teams we can play with and compete" "the first 5 games were against strong, powerful 1-A teams"...........something like that.............I'm going WHAT? THAT COMMENT WAS PITIFUL. WE'VE BEEN ONE OF "THOSE TEAMS" RECENTLY.............why back up?

n/a.........my comment on the use of our talent had to do with scheming to use it not change positions. Do we have a screne in the playbook? Do we (can't see this on the radio) ever stack up a side to force zone coverage and free someone up? Things like that. Thanks for noting..............

ILFSITF

Oh God..........now I have to suffer thru the Browns this afternoon........

[Guest Lee Corso]

All I can say is not so fast my Zippy friends. Let's piece this one together bit by bit.

The same people are on this team who were here last year save Brake (in the NFL), Cummins, Hendry, Irvin, Sparks, Cherry, McKenzie, and about 6 other starters. No recruiting was done the previous two years leaving a bit of a bare cubbard for the 2004 edition. Where was the building on winning records in 1999 and 2000 into major recruiting classes? The answers lay in 4 decent players who are now rs-seniors and maybe 3 who are rs-juniors on this year's team. That is 7 out of 22 first-team players, or just over 1/3 of the roster. Add in 7 true freshmen playing right now and that is a tall order my friends.

You cannot be creative with a bad offensive front which cannot be trusted and receivers who have no game or in some cases position experience. Just because you are fast does not make you good. Ask Renoldo Neiamiah - the former Olympic Sprinter and NFL failure. Add in a shaky run game due to all of the factors above and this is not a recipe for success. Bigs is the ONLY running back with speed and he is new. There was no other back on the team who could be ellusive

Anyone who thought Akron was going to be another Bowling Green (instant success story with a new staff) was living in an altered state. Blakeney could not coach but he could recruit. Meyer came in, made a quick adjustment here and there and got out quick. This program was an exception to the rule that almost every program with a new staff which was not a big winner before a coaching change has a rough start.

Professionally, Akron's former staff could not coach or recruit consistently which is why they are at Ashland (D-II & 2-3 and losers of their last 3 games), Wayne State (D-II & 1-4 - lost their first 3 games), Malone (D-III & lost to Walsh again), EMU (Who cares) and Georgia Southern (1-AA and looking pretty good). That is 1 out of 5 schools with winning records and none at the 1-A level. None of the schools with losing records have been good in the recent past so they too are going through what Akron is now.

Like it or not wins and losses are dictated by the players on the field. The better the players are the better the coaches

look. Akron had the talent to win 7 games last season and a total of 8 the previous two years combined. That is 15 of 33 games in the W column - less than 50%. Newsflush - the program has been a loser for the last 3 years and no recruiting has been done which means what... new coaches come in and it's Bowl time? Nonsense.

Z-P, Akron has not been close to being near the MAC elite, save for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Since 2001 the Zips are 1-2 against Marshall, 0-3 against Miami and 1-2 against UCF. The last two years Akron was also 1-1 against EMU and CMU which ranked among the worst in 1-A football. Elite teams do not lose to squads in the ESPN Bottom 10. Akron did go 3-0 against 1-AA schools, which takes the 1-A win average down to 4 games a year and a total of 12 in three years.

You all know the truth and need to respect the facts... Akron was a losing program and these kids on the team in 2004 have not learned how to win. Some would say they do not know how to be a team. Building this takes more than one spring practice and 7 weeks of fall season and pre-camp.

If you really believed that having Frye back with no supporting cast was going to take Akron to a bowl game in 2004 then shame on you. That is too much to lay on one kid alone. He has played the last two games with an injury that would have sidelined any of you folks from typing on this board, much less going out and getting your can knocked to the ground every play when no one in front of you blocks. Right now he is obviously rattled - give him time and opportunity and he can do as others have suggested and help bring this together.

It will be 2006 before anyone can pass judgement on this program. The Buffalo, UCF and Ball State games will be good tests to see whether the team believes in the direction of the program. Win all three and Akron is 4-4 and tied with Marshall for the MAC East lead heading onto the game on 11/5 on ESPN2. Win that one, the next week at Ohio and the home finale against Miami and you are at Ford Field for the MAC Title game. Marshall in 2004 ain't what they were in 2002 when Akron won but then against neither is Akron what the were two seasons ago. That line of thought has got to be the battle cry for this group of upperclassmen right now.

[ZipDude]

Now that was a great post.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Now that was a great post.

I agree.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I was on vacation. Didn't hear it...didn't see it.

Going into the game my thoughs were: "NIU is as good as, or slightly better than Penn State. If we've improved, we'll have a better showing than we did against Penn State. If we haven't improved, we'll be worse."

I think we must have improved a bit. We were only down 28-12 at one point. We returned an INT for a TD. We played just about as competitive as I could reasonable expect. Not as well as I wished...but "expect" and "wish" are two different things.

I expect to beat Buffalo and Ball State. Hell...I expect to beat UCF too. Those are 3 really bad teams.

What's up with the punt return unit? That's embarassing.

OL: Holy hell...

Hope Saturday's weather is nice!

[Guest ***GUEST_racer]

ck. not to burst you bubble ,but you are forgetting one thing. we are also a really bad team at this point.our only win was against a team (Can't State who only win was againt rev. j farwell.)we lost to a team mtsu who then lost to a 1-aa team. the other three games we were blown out in. i did think before the season we should win those games. i dont think you realize how bad we are. expect us two win all three of those games because they are bad teams . you dont think those teams are saying the same thing about us.

at this point i would like to just win a game /let alone three.

[Zipsrifle]

Well, right now Buffalo, UCF, and Ball State are licking their chops seeing that they've got to play Akron. I'd say that we are on level ground at best with all three teams and I'll be like a kid in a candy store if we're at 4-4 the evening of Oct. 23rd.

Buffalo: This game will be just like the MTSU game. We probably "Should" win this game, but I'm only saying that because it's at our place. If this game was in Buffalo, wouldn't be pretty. Lets hope for good weather and a good crowd, the team will need all the help they can get.

UCF: I hate UCF more than any other MAC team. I'm so glad to see them getting it handed to them by the "Bottom Feeders" over the past two seasons. I just hope that they are so demoralized that they just expect to lose. I kinda think this was the case last season. They've got the home field advantage,... bad.

Ball State: They put 41 points on Western...Glad we've got them at home. If they skunk Eastern, we're in trouble. We'll need a two game winning streak and the associated momentum to take them at home.

We come out of the next three games with a minimum of one win. I think we'll get two. Three might be a lot to ask for. I sure hope that there is a fire under some asses this week. Lets Go ZIPS!!!

[zipsbandman]

Man, these losses hurt! I got to a point where I could not watch the game anymore. However, I do agree with the fact that we are just going through a transition phase, and the talent on our roster is bad. Its unbelievable how many guys on our roster who should be playing OAC football. The one solution to this problem is recruiting, and that's what worries me the most about these huge beatings. How can our coaching staff sell a program that gets blown out vs every competitive team it faces? Facilities can only do so much. Look at Can't. They have an indoor facility and a stadium adjacent to campus, and they continue to make up the basement of NCAA football. We must beat Buffalo. We must beat UCF. We must beat Ohio. We need to show these kids something, something that shows we have potential.

This February is one of the most important times for this program. Its great that a good number of these Freshmen are gaining experience through playing time. It really says a lot about our depth, huh? We need more building blocks in place. Its up to the guys we pay to run this thing. Signing day will be here before we know it. Which direction will we go?

[GP1]

Man, that Lee Corso really knows his stuff. Saved me a lot of typing.

Be patient my fellow Zip fans. See you all Saturday.

[Captain Kangaroo]

ck. not to burst you bubble ,but you are forgetting one thing. we are also a really bad team at this point.our only win was against a team (Can't State who only win was againt rev. j farwell.)we lost to a team mtsu who then lost to a 1-aa team. the other three games we were  blown out in. i did think before the season we should win those games. i dont think you realize how bad we are.  expect us two win all three of those games because they are bad teams . you dont think those teams are saying the same thing about us.

at this point i would like to just win a game /let alone three.

I do realize how bad we are. However, Buffalo is abysmal. Ball State is very bad with flushes of mediocrity and UCF got blown out by Buffalo.

I'm in 100% agreement with the prevailing sentament on this board that Owens' lackluster recruiting has put us in this situation. No one can tell me when we line up against Penn State, Virginia or NIU that we had many athletes belonging in the same universe as those teams, let alone the same playing field.

However, this coaching staff doesn't get a "free pass" to lose to horrible MAC teams. If this existing Zips squad is motivated and well coached, these next three games are wins. None of these teams is better than Can't. They're essentially "Can't," but in different uniforms. I've seen that we can beat Can't, so we should also be able to beat what is best summed up as "Can't Light", "Can't Dry" and "Can't Amber Bock."

On a side note: I have no fear that the present team's performance will adversely affect recruiting. In JD's first press conference he alluded to the fact that he bought into a Pitt program that was horrid...hadn't won squat in a decade...and he helped turn them into a perennial bowl team with a few All-Americans to boot. He expected this Zips team to be a major rebuilding (or simply "building") project from the get-go, as did his staff. Unfortunately, football programs aren't built in a day...or a season...or 2 seasons...we're just gonna hafta be patient...and drink alot before games for the next couple years.