Andrew Johnson Thread

[RACER]

does anybody know why johnson did not play in the spring game.right now we have allen and kennedy at tb.i think they would do an ok job,but the best player on the offense williams is now on defense. i just dont get it.i know williams is going to be a good db,but how does that help if we cannot score any points.plus jd takes are best db and puts him at wr.he was our best open field tackler.hopefully jd knows what he is doing.i just don't see our offense is going to score any points.

[ZippyAlum]

Johnson was hurt. Williams wanted to go to DB.

[72 Roo]

If Jacq returns at QB they sure as hell won't score any points. Don't buy the B.S. that he is making great strides. Once he is up against a 1st team MAC defense he will implode like last year. Pray that Rodgers is ready. This Spring and next Fall our greatest improvement, bar none, must be at QB. Last year we had the worst in D1 football. Optimistically, we only have one direction to go. If we can solve that issue and find WR's and DB's we could make some noise in the MAC.

[Blue & Gold]

If Jacq returns at QB they sure as hell won't score any points. Don't buy the B.S. that he is making great strides. Once he is up against a 1st team MAC defense he will implode like last year. Pray that Rodgers is ready. This Spring and next Fall our greatest improvement, bar none, must be at QB. Last year we had the worst in D1 football. Optimistically, we only have one direction to go. If we can solve that issue and find WR's and DB's we could make some noise in the MAC.

Yep. Honestly, that's the worst QB play I've seen since I began watching Zip football about 15 years ago. Season ticket holders should have been pretty aggravated w/ the coaching staff for allowing a QB situation like that to develop, and Zips fans should be aggravated because you're absolutely not going to build much of a fan base with offensive play like we witnessed last year. And at such a crucial time in the programs history (Info Stadium). And with the damn Suckeyes playing for a national championship every year.

[gozips19]

does anybody know why johnson did not play in the spring game.right now we have allen and kennedy at tb.i think they would do an ok job,but the best player on the offense williams is now on defense. i just dont get it.i know williams is going to be a good db,but how does that help if we cannot score any points.plus jd takes are best db and puts him at wr.he was our best open field tackler.hopefully jd knows what he is doing.i just don't see our offense is going to score any points.

he was out with a foot injury. the people i've talked to have said he's looked the best in practice last year and this year. only gripe is he doesn't like to block very much. i agree with your apprehension about the the pos moves of b will and jones....that was until i saw them at the spring game. both looked very comfortable and can be difference makers on the field. b will can be an impact player from day one and jones; while raw has this year and (hopefully) next to become the play maker that he showed flushes up this spring. only thing missing is for rodgers to step up and for bowser to live up to the hype. that happens and this team will be very good.

[GP1]

Honestly, that's the worst QB play I've seen since I began watching Zip football about 15 years ago.

It was the worst QB play since 1987. That year was far worse than last year.

[RACER]

i think our defense will still be ok this year.we have enough guys coming back,and with the addition of a good 300 lbs-dt.i just see last season repeating it's self.the defense plays good but gets worn out because of 1-2-3- punt from the offense.we need to be able to run the ball,and get better qb play for things to change.if not it will be a long year.the miami game last year made me sick.i just hope things change with addition of johnson at rb,and jones at wr.im sure williams will be a great db,but how is that going to help the zips score points.jd sees the team everydayso i am sure he is doing the right things by changing people around.i still dont understand why jd did not go aftera jc -qb.i don't really like going the jc route alott ,but we also had a qb from the jc-mike johnson that was a great qb.we also had biggs at rb so jd has proven he can get a jc player.i think most people agree jd is on the hot seat this year.i don't expect a 12-0 season, but this team cannot have another losing season. i would be happy with the 6-6 seasonsince we are playing on the road for three occ games,and have cinnci at home.i would love to see us winning the mac,butwe need to at least improve on last year.

[johnnyzip84]

RACER brings up a good point. Exactly was does the team have to do this year to assure JD comes back to open InfoCision? Or does he get another season regardless? Because of this being the last season in the bowl, I'm thinking 6-6 just MIGHT be the cut-off (anything below he goes), even though 6-6 against this schedule would be a pretty decent season.I think the D will not only be pretty good, but barring an injury to Bain will be as good as any that's played here before. The obvious question is on O and I honestly think this is totally a crap-shoot at this stage.

[Zipsrifle]

I think 4 wins and he gets the boot. 5 wins and he probably hangs around. Here's my thoughts why. I think JD entered this job with NO intent of making Akron his home. He wanted to get into Akron, build the program in 3-4 years, and get out. Things were good early on, and he was "Building" by taking on some risky players. Remember all of those #1 recruiting classes we had? Where are all those guys? Reality Check.Now he knows he's on the hot seat and he's backed himself into a corner. I would like to think that he's trying to recruit players that aren't such a risk. I think he's a pretty good coach and if he is getting better recruits, things could turn around. If he is on this path, which I don't know that he is, then I would not object giving him more time. If we get a new coach, then we have another 3-4 years of "Building", ugh! If we tank this year, then I think we need to look for other options, but I don't think that will happen. Personally, I think it is rediculous how much college coaches move around in the Mid-Majors. I know I'm dreaming, but I would love to see a school give a coach a 2nd chance and when he turns things around, he sticks around.

[ZachTheZip]

JD is a fast learner. He took on a program that was in the gutter, and had to figure out a way to elevate it. He knew coming in that the only way to advance his career is to advance the program, but he didn't know wat he needed to do to get results. He's grown tremendously as a head coach since he came here, and I think he's beginning to grasp what needs to be done, but he has dug himself too deep a hole through his processes of trial and error. He needs results now.

[Quickzips]

I've got serious questions about whether our coaching staff as it stands now should be around much longer, but I have to say, I HATE this idea that somehow number of wins is determinative of JD and his staff keeping their jobs. For me, I'm as much concerned about seeing things being corrected. Learning from mistakes. I wanna see our entire recruiting class take the field for practice over the summer. I wanna see a drastic decrease in players being benched and suspended for undisclosed reasons. I wanna see in game adjustments. I wanna see our team consistently have success against mobile QB's. I wanna see less penalties. Take care of some of that stuff and the wins will come.

[Blue & Gold]

I've got serious questions about whether our coaching staff as it stands now should be around much longer, but I have to say, I HATE this idea that somehow number of wins is determinative of JD and his staff keeping their jobs. For me, I'm as much concerned about seeing things being corrected. Learning from mistakes. I wanna see our entire recruiting class take the field for practice over the summer. I wanna see a drastic decrease in players being benched and suspended for undisclosed reasons. I wanna see in game adjustments. I wanna see our team consistently have success against mobile QB's. I wanna see less penalties. Take care of some of that stuff and the wins will come.

Good points. I especially appreciate in game adjustments. To my mind that is perhaps the most important indicator of a good X's & O's coach. I haven't seen many (any?) in-game or halftime adjustments over the past few years. It seems like if the gameplan that we bring to the kickoff doesn't work then we just beat our heads against the wall for the rest of the game.

[Lee Adams]

RACER brings up a good point. Exactly was does the team have to do this year to assure JD comes back to open InfoCision? Or does he get another season regardless? Because of this being the last season in the bowl, I'm thinking 6-6 just MIGHT be the cut-off (anything below he goes), even though 6-6 against this schedule would be a pretty decent season.I think the D will not only be pretty good, but barring an injury to Bain will be as good as any that's played here before. The obvious question is on O and I honestly think this is totally a crap-shoot at this stage.

having lost 5 scholarships and with the pitiful last 2 years, 6-6 won't get JD back for opening day at INFO...he better be AT LEAST 7-5 and/or get to the MAC championship game

[72 Roo]

Lee,I can't see Mac bringing JD back if he goes less than 6-6. Honestly, I'm not confident he can do that. QB is still the biggest need of this team and potentially it's greatest limiting factor. I've heard little talk about Rodgers so I hope JD is being coy and not alerting the rest of the MAC that we have solved the problem. But if he seriously starts with Jacq I believe he should be fired.Another problem we have is with our coordinators. Both were repeatedly outcoached last year. Our defense couldn't stop a gnat and our offense was so predictable the rest of the MAC ate us up. I do not share the belief that our O line is ready to excel. I remember watching them against Temple when we started the fourth quarter with a 21 point lead and all we had to do was run the ball to win. None of them could drive block when they needed to. On many downs against Temple all we needed was a yard or two to keep the drive alive and they couldn't get it. I think we need to look at the coordinators and the O line objectively. They weren't that good last year. I will grant you that a good QB will give them the best chance for improving. While RB will be strong our wide outs appear to be mediocre. TE is piss poor.The D line will be a strength. I see no size with speed at LB. I like Grant , but our others are undersized. The DB's need a major shot of talent.Against the schedule and with all the question marks we have I can't see us doing any better than 6-6. That's being optimistic.If JD can coach, he needs to show it this year. I hope he succeeds and once again shows

[GP1]

Against the schedule and with all the question marks we have I can't see us doing any better than 6-6. That's being optimistic.

I think you are right on the money. In recent years, a team that goes 6-6 in the MAC is an elite MAC team and has a shot at the conference championship and a bowl (Miami did it last year). QB play makes an elite MAC school (Pennington, Limpwich, Roethlisberger, Gradkowski, can't think of the guy at CMU right now, etc.). With all the talent on the team, we will still not have an elite QB. They will go 5-7, JD will be let go, another Coach Smith will be brought in and the building can continue for another five years. Let the good times roll on that long bridge to China........ It could be done by now.

[UA1987]

Just because the QB touches the ball every play, doesn't mean he is 100% responsible for the results of the offense. I don't know Jac, but it seems like he is receiving the same foolish treatment, by some in this forum, that Charlie Frye received by shit streak fans and columnists.Charlie had four different centers, three different offensive coordinators, a lineman that went crazy, and two key targets that went down with injuries (Edwards and Winslow). In comes the media and fans to blame the QB. Pretty smart huh?. Once they fix everything then the team gives Charlie the heave ho to make a place for pretty boy Quinn. I no longer watch pro football for many reasons, but this is one of them.In 2007, Jac had a rebuilt offensive line, a new offense and coordinator, and only one decent receiver who was double teamed. I'd like to see you moron critics succeed in that situation. For 2008, it appears that the receiver problem is fixed. The O-line looks better after a year of working together (center position worries me a bit) and here's hoping that JD gets involved in the offense as Morehead is a where I put alot of the blame for last year's offensive problems.Summary: Jac, may or may not be the man this year, but give him a chance now that he has some weapons and protection. To just keep saying QB, QB, QB, was the problem last year sounds stupid. Let's not repeat the Charlie Frye Brown's ripoff to one of our own.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I went to 9 Zips football games last season...and I don't think CJ11 is a good QB. When you first see a really good QB, or for that matter a player at any position, you can usually see if he has "it."When Frye came in for Nick Sparks after Nick's turf toe, Frye rolled out and threw a bullet to the TE...him him square in the numbers. I, and my buddy next to me looked at each other and said "Wow." You could see he was special.GP1's point is valid that maqree QB's win in the MAC, and mediocre-to-bad QB's don't.I hope CJ11 proves me wrong. I hope he hit the weight room in the off season, hit the film room and takes his game to another level this year. We need it, or we're a sub .500 club in 2008.The WR's we have this season will be better suited for CJ11's abilities. Bowser seems to be a guy that can turn a 10 yard out into a 35 yard gain. Bruce is likewise more a short yardage guy than a deep threat. If Andre Jones can stretch the D like Hixson a few years ago, that's a solid top 3 WR set.OL is fine. RB is excellent.DL is as good as it's been in 15 years.LB's aren't too deep, but the improved DL will hide that a bit.DB will be fine. Especially if Will Fleming is as good as I think he is.Punter is "ok." And our kicking game should be excellent.I also think coach Moorhead needs to re-invent his offense this summer. The sideways tosses didn't work last season, and they won't work this season. Regarding JD --Consistently winning football games at UA isn't easy. That's why it hasn't happened in about a quarter century. JD came to UA with zero head coaching experience. He shot for the moon with some athletic talent that, if it would have panned out, would have made UA a dominant team. I think he learned that athletic talent alone doesn't cut it for a student athlete. And that the cons outweigh the pros when is comes to accepting kids long on talent, and short on character. But -- the guy gave it his best shot. He didn't copy Lee Owens...he tried a fresh approach. Ok, maybe it was a little like Faust. To his credit, his last two classes have been nearly as highly touted as his first ones, but with much better character, and grades. Hopefully he gets the opportunity to see them into their 4th and 5th seasons.In today's D-1 athletics, you essentially have 5 years to win. Especially if you're playing for an AD that didn't hire you.Will JD turn it around this season? He should. Even with milquetoast QB play, 7-5 should be an attainable goal. And he stays at 7-5, no doubt. If he had a schedule with two 1-AA opponents, like Owens did in his final year, 7-5 probably wouldn't cut it.If the Zips do worse (than 7-5), then what? It will be interesting to see if Mack looks at the big picture and recognizes the progress after the early retention issues...or if he goes by the 5-year-and-out book and puts "his guy" at the helm for the inaugural Infocision Stadium season.Owens got 9 years and Faust got 9 years. UA's history is to give football coaches a pretty long leash to turn things around. I think JD's chances of being on the Zips sidelines in 2009 have a lot to do with, win or lose, how the team progresses, how it wins or loses, and how it finishes. I'm going with 7-5, with JD and a pretty decent core of players returning for 2009.

[UA1987]

'I went to 9 Zips football games last season...and I don't think CJ11 is a good QB - CK quote.' Don't let my post count on this forum fool you... I've been going to and or listenting/watching almost every Akron football game for the last 20+ years. Jac may not be your stud QB, but he could be servicable this year. 'I also think coach Moorhead needs to re-invent his offense this summer - CK quote.' What could ruin this season - more Moorhead. I hope JD takes over the Offense. 'the guy gave it his best shot. He didn't copy Lee Owens...he tried a fresh approach. Ok, maybe it was a little like Faust. - CK quote on JD'Thankfully you mentioned the comparison to Faust - anybody remember the 20 injury season (I think some character lacking recruits gave up and faked injury rather than have an association with this team) during the notorious 1-10 campaign? That was the year Akron was 0-10 and Ohio was 0-10 for the first time meeting of winless 10 loss teams in division I-A. This game was played at the Rubber Bowl with some national attention. I thought that this would have been a great game for Acme/Click to hand out grocery bag head gear with eye holes cut out to hide your idenity and shame at such a bad year. No promo occurred and Poor Gerry (Faust) was fired soon thereafter.

[72 Roo]

A 7-5 record is a stretch in my opinion, but I will be cheering as hard as I can that they do it. My prediction of 6-6 I think is more realistic in leiu of all the question marks that are brought into this season. QB, coaching, WR's and DB's are the major ones I see. The problem I see on this board is that we all want them so desparately to succeed that we overlook or minimize the serious challenges they have. If we objectively voice this we are lumped in a catagory of "morons" who are like Browns fans who criticized Charlie. I guess my avid support of Charlie as a Brown went for naught. Captain I acknowledge you know the Zips better and deeper than I do. That being said, until the four keys areas I have mentioned above prove themselves on the field I think I'll stay at 6-6. BTW Capt'n didn't you predict we would win the MAC East last year? I wish you were right. I really enjoy your posts.

[Zipsrifle]

milquetoast

What??? Milquetoast.....throw in some eggs, a griddle and we've got some french toast!

[Lee Adams]

Lee,I can't see Mac bringing JD back if he goes less than 6-6. Honestly, I'm not confident he can do that. QB is still the biggest need of this team and potentially it's greatest limiting factor. I've heard little talk about Rodgers so I hope JD is being coy and not alerting the rest of the MAC that we have solved the problem. But if he seriously starts with Jacq I believe he should be fired.Another problem we have is with our coordinators. Both were repeatedly outcoached last year. Our defense couldn't stop a gnat and our offense was so predictable the rest of the MAC ate us up. I do not share the belief that our O line is ready to excel. I remember watching them against Temple when we started the fourth quarter with a 21 point lead and all we had to do was run the ball to win. None of them could drive block when they needed to. On many downs against Temple all we needed was a yard or two to keep the drive alive and they couldn't get it. I think we need to look at the coordinators and the O line objectively. They weren't that good last year. I will grant you that a good QB will give them the best chance for improving. While RB will be strong our wide outs appear to be mediocre. TE is piss poor.The D line will be a strength. I see no size with speed at LB. I like Grant , but our others are undersized. The DB's need a major shot of talent.Against the schedule and with all the question marks we have I can't see us doing any better than 6-6. That's being optimistic.If JD can coach, he needs to show it this year. I hope he succeeds and once again shows

unfortunately you may be right...JD is NOT going to be invited to the FO unless he is either at least 7-5 or goes to the MAC Champeenship game...now...he has a good O-line,good RB's, appears to be a better D-line and adequate LB's...secondary is ????....wideouts????...QB????????....they can win some games with a running game and defense in the MAC...but unless CJ or whomever steps up at QB and 1 wideout emerges....the D will have to dominate...got my season ticket order in for '08 and '09

[72 Roo]

Lee,I can't see Mac bringing JD back if he goes less than 6-6. Honestly, I'm not confident he can do that. QB is still the biggest need of this team and potentially it's greatest limiting factor. I've heard little talk about Rodgers so I hope JD is being coy and not alerting the rest of the MAC that we have solved the problem. But if he seriously starts with Jacq I believe he should be fired.Another problem we have is with our coordinators. Both were repeatedly outcoached last year. Our defense couldn't stop a gnat and our offense was so predictable the rest of the MAC ate us up. I do not share the belief that our O line is ready to excel. I remember watching them against Temple when we started the fourth quarter with a 21 point lead and all we had to do was run the ball to win. None of them could drive block when they needed to. On many downs against Temple all we needed was a yard or two to keep the drive alive and they couldn't get it. I think we need to look at the coordinators and the O line objectively. They weren't that good last year. I will grant you that a good QB will give them the best chance for improving. While RB will be strong our wide outs appear to be mediocre. TE is piss poor.The D line will be a strength. I see no size with speed at LB. I like Grant , but our others are undersized. The DB's need a major shot of talent.Against the schedule and with all the question marks we have I can't see us doing any better than 6-6. That's being optimistic.If JD can coach, he needs to show it this year. I hope he succeeds and once again shows

unfortunately you may be right...JD is NOT going to be invited to the FO unless he is either at least 7-5 or goes to the MAC Champeenship game...now...he has a good O-line,good RB's, appears to be a better D-line and adequate LB's...secondary is ????....wideouts????...QB????????....they can win some games with a running game and defense in the MAC...but unless CJ or whomever steps up at QB and 1 wideout emerges....the D will have to dominate...got my season ticket order in for '08 and '09

My hope is we are both wrong.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Captain I acknowledge you know the Zips better and deeper than I do. That being said, until the four keys areas I have mentioned above prove themselves on the field I think I'll stay at 6-6. BTW Capt'n didn't you predict we would win the MAC East last year? I wish you were right. I really enjoy your posts.

I didn't predict the Zips would win the MAC East last season. I believe you have me mistaken for Big Zip? ;) (are there enough winking smilies in the world to cover for that one?)I pegged the Zips for 8-4 "worst case" last year. I grossly underestimated the problems we'd have at QB. In a desperate attempt to salvage some pride from my prediction, I'll say the following:We were 4-8, but the separation from the Zips and the MAC "elite" wasn't all that great. We lost to MAC East champ Miami, on the road, 7-0. We beat MAC Champ CMU for 59 minutes, before blowing it. We beat Temple for 59 minutes before blowing it. We were punked by BG, but only because we wasted 7 of our 9 opportunities in the red zone. We beat K.e.n.t, beat OU...other than Buffalo we were were in the driver's seat in all our conference losses. If CJ11 hasn't improved...and Rogers isn't ready...then I predict JD puts Gary Pride in the shotgun. Then I up my 2008 season-record prediction from 7-5, to 8-4.And if I'm wrong, I'll make up some lame excuse, and post it on December 3rd, 2008. Mark it on your calender...I promise it'll be a doosie!

[UA1987]

'I grossly underestimated the problems we'd have at QB. - CK Quote'Please think for a minute... our major problem last year was at receiver, despite your pre-season comments last year that we could just find replacements like we have been able to in the past ... along wth graduating seniors, we lost Harvey, Long, and Vince Hill. We had no replacement's for them and this was too much to overcome. Do you think Owen's move up from NAIA Walsh in Canton was the answer last year? No... this was a desperate move. Among other things, Sakes quit because of the loss of receiver talent. JD admitted recently that we had a major problem at wide-out. At QB it's got to be a nightmare when your only talented receiver is doubled or triple teamed, no one else is open and the defense is closing in in 1 more second. We now have the talent to get it done at wide-out, so now let's see how the QB position works out. Maybe Rodger's wins the job, I'll leave that up to JD because his job depends on it. I just hope he get's involved in the offense, because last year's offensive problems could have been corrected somewhat with some damage control and creativity by the Offensive Coordinator.Go Zips!