IF YOU WERE THE AD FOR AKRON U WHAT WOULD YOU DO??

[Guest ZIPMAN]

YO DAWGS!

OKAY......YOU JUST HIRED A NEW FOOTBALL COACH LESS THAN A YEAR AGO AND YOUR

FOOTBALL TEAM IS DAHOOD. YOUR INITIAL DESIRE WAS MAYBE THIS DUDE, BROOKHART,

WILL BE THE 'URBAN MEYER" OF AKRON U FOOTBALL AND HE HAS FAILED THUS FAR,

WHAT WOULD YOU DO, AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OF THE ZIPS, TO TURN THINGS

AROUND IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION DAZIPMAN'S ANSWER I DON'T......MAYBE

GIVE HIM ANOTHER YEAR.........OTHERWISE PUT HIM OUT IN THE SREET.

DA ZIPMAN

[Guest Lee Corso]

I AGREE - 20 QUARTERS OF FOOTBALL IS ENOUGH TIME FOR ANYONE TO TURN AROUND A PROGRA,. BRROKHART HAS GOT TO GO. WHY WAIT FOR HIM TO RECRUIT PLAYERS AND BUILD A PROGAM - AKRON HAS THE TALENT TO BE IN THE TOP 25 AND WIN THE MACK RIGHT NOW AND IT IS ALL BEING WASTED BY THESE CLOWNS - THERE ARE AT LEAST 5 NFL ALL-PRO TYPES ON THIS TEAM BUT THEY CANNOT WIN EASY GAMES AGAINST PENN STATE, VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN ILLINOIS - THE MIDDLE TENNESSEE GAME WAS THE BIGGEST JOKE ON THE SCHEDULE AND AKRON U COULD NOT WIN THAT GAME EITHER - WHY WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE SEASON - FIRE BROOKHART NOW.

WAIT, WHO IS THAT AT THE DOOR...

(STRUGGLE, MAYHEM ENSUES, MEDICATION IS INJECTED INTO VEINS OF PSYCHOTIC MESSAGE BOARD POSTER)

Wow, that feels better. Every now and then I slip into these bi-polar rants and the medics have to come drag me back into reality.

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 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.

[Hilltopper]

The reason we suck is very simple: the O-line sucks and we are too small and slow on defense. No amount of coaching will change the fact that we have very little talent.

[Zipsrifle]

No way Thomas lets JD go right now. I'm just extremely discouraged, probably because of the pre-season hype. THAT, is a good thing! I'm a skeptical person and it tells me that the UA Marketing dept. has done a good job. Honestly, if they didn't run the Heisman campaign, I wouldn't have been nearly as excited.

Lets look at what got LO fired in the first place. We had one of, if not the easiest schedule in D1-A last year. If we were to play last seasons schedule, right now I'm confident we would have the same record as we did last year at this time, 3-2. Though, we might not have the same margin of victory. I think that L. Corso is right, we've stunk for some time now and just didn't realize it. We all knew that this year would be rough, and I think we're just one loss behind where I expected us to be. The difference for me is how badly we've lost.

Now the next 3 weeks are going to be rough. No walks in the park this year...we're one of those teams that everyone is going to think "Thank GOD we've got Akron this week". At least we'll have home field advantage for 2 of the games. JD, for his own sake, has got to get the team modivated to win these games. If we lose to Buffalo, JD is going to have a VERY hard time getting taleted players in here. We've got to knock off Buffalo this week and UCF the next week to prove that we are at least a "Good", Bad MAC team. If we become a "Bad", Bad MAC team, the recruits are going to see the writing on the wall and move along. I really think these next 3 weeks may be the most important in Akron's DI-A history.

Like I said before, JD appears to be one of those Modivated, Successful people. He just always seems to come out on top. I still think he was the best person for the job.

[GP1]

I guess if I was the AD, the first thing I wouldn't do is panic like a hysterical school girl and want the coach fired after five games.

[zipper]

That is hilarious .

I find it ironic that there are any posts for Brookhart's head after we lose to Northern Illinois - whose coach went something like 3-30 in his first three seasons there.

ADs have to take the long haul approach, and it appears Akron's is doing just that. Hire the right guy and then let him build it.

BTW, I notice Pitt appears to be imploding without JD. Just an observation but one that bears mentioning.

[Guest Lee Corso]

Hey Rifleman, thanks for the reply.

The way the old ball coach looks at it the results of 2004 have litttle impact on recruiting. No recruit would hold a new staff accountable for the results generated by an old regime and would see immediate playing time at a school that is struggling. Recruiting all comes down to relationships and chemistry meeting opportunity to play. There are lots of holes to fill with the Zips and that means lots of recruits will want to play for the staff who has a energy about them and new facilities.

What this also means is that lots of young people will be playing on the field in 2005, both RS frosh and true frosh. I would not want to be a Sophomore or Junior on this team if I were not a star because those folks are not going to see much field time.