Questions For JMU

[MYTAPPY]

http://www.dailynews-record.com/sports_details.php?AID=5710&CHID=3

[MYTAPPY]

You have some beasts at the tackle postion. Those are some big boys..

[PaladinFan]

I remember thinking that when JMU played Furman in the 04 playoffs that they had the biggest offensive line I had yet seen in I-AA football. That still holds true.

[SoCon48]

You have some beasts at the tackle postion. Those are some big boys..
As did LSU and a couple of the I-AA play-off teams last Fall. Trey will require a bit more time than Richie for sure. In seasons past, we often welcomed seeing Richie flushed out of the pocket.

[blur2005]

I have little concern over the offensive line issues. There's just way too much talent that has come in over the last couple years for there to be a major drop off in the o-line play. Defensive line, I will admit, is a concern. The guys we had up front last year were a force and will be missed. Moreover, it failed to mention we lost pretty much five or six of eleven starters on defense. So defense is a concern. Mickey Matthews said that for once JMU might have to outscore some people. On the kicking issue, I think Rabil will do alright. He's not incredible but I can't see him personally losing some games for JMU this year.

[Tribe4SF]

I remember thinking that when JMU played Furman in the 04 playoffs that they had the biggest offensive line I had yet seen in I-AA football. That still holds true.

While that line had good size, it was a group that had talent and played well together. Far from the biggest I've seen, but probably the best.

The biggest I-AA line I've seen was the 1996 Jackson State crew. Averaged about 330 and 6'5".

As every o-line coach knows, individual talent is only one of the components for a successful o-line. For JMU, replacing Magerko's leadership is key.

[PaladinFan]

There aren't that many big mamma-jamma offensive linemen in the SoCon, a conference far more reliant on speed than power.

Trey Elder may need more time, but from my vantage point, he is far faster than Richie Williams. Williams ran a suprising 4.88 at the NFL workouts, demonstrating his quickness came from his lateral movements and shifty feet.

The one concern I might have with Elder is that he is too anxious to use his feet. Sometimes that pocket escaping ability is great in a quarterback, but if they rely on it too much, it becomes detrimental.

Besides, ASU runs mostly short drops out of the shotgun. You don't require too much time for that to work. The Mountaineers have a great O-line, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[SoCon48]

There aren't that many big mamma-jamma offensive linemen in the SoCon, a conference far more reliant on speed than power.

Trey Elder may need more time, but from my vantage point, he is far faster than Richie Williams. Williams ran a suprising 4.88 at the NFL workouts, demonstrating his quickness came from his lateral movements and shifty feet.

The one concern I might have with Elder is that he is too anxious to use his feet. Sometimes that pocket escaping ability is great in a quarterback, but if they rely on it too much, it becomes detrimental.

Besides, ASU runs mostly short drops out of the shotgun. You don't require too much time for that to work. The Mountaineers have a great O-line, so I wouldn't worry too much.

I think you're right in your assessment.

By late Richie's junior year and his senior yar, he got much faster at finding (or picking) a receiver and getting rid of the ball. Trey will need to improve in that regard pretty quickly.
Richie's ability to read the defenses certainly made the task easier.

[GannonFan]

From my perspective, it's all about how your lines matchup with JMU's lines. Their offensive line, while large, can be neutralized with a good defensive line. The JMU running game is at it's best when the holes are huge to run through (Fenner is good at this) but any ability to stay on your feet means the holes are small and the ground game begins to struggle. JMU wants to power right over you so if you can stand up to that they'll just keep trying.

As for the defense, if you can run the ball very well you should be able to move at will against JMU. The defensive line last year was good but had the same problem that they couldn't stop good running games (UD and Richmond for instance - couldn't tell about UMass with it being in a swamp). If you don't have that aspect, you can run into trouble against JMU as they defend the pass very well.

Even though Mickey says they're going to change this year and throw a lot more, JMU wins by controlling the clock on offense and by being aggressive on defense. Slowing them down running the ball and doing a lot of running yourself is a good way to keep them on their heels. Not sure if Appy St can do this or not.

[jmuroller]

As for the defense, if you can run the ball very well you should be able to move at will against JMU. The defensive line last year was good but had the same problem that they couldn't stop good running games (UD and Richmond for instance - couldn't tell about UMass with it being in a swamp). If you don't have that aspect, you can run into trouble against JMU as they defend the pass very well.



JMU was 9th in the nation last year in run defense. They played terrible against UD, and the Richmond debacle was more the offense than anything. They were constantly going 3 and out. To say anyone can move the ball "at will" is flat wrong. You saw Cuff shred us two years in a row so your viewpoint is different.



The JMU running game is at it's best when the holes are huge to run through (Fenner is good at this) but any ability to stay on your feet means the holes are small and the ground game begins to struggle. JMU wants to power right over you so if you can stand up to that they'll just keep trying.




HUH? Isn't this true for every football team in America? If the holes are huge its easy, if they are small it's not. Sounds elementary to me. No one runs the zone runs and power runs better than us. I think the major fault with us is that once we get a lead, even a small one, we run the ball to keep the clock going. We don't put enough pressure on defenses with the passing game. We have the horses this year in the passing game so we'll see:nod:

[GannonFan]

JMU was 9th in the nation last year in run defense. They played terrible against UD, and the Richmond debacle was more the offense than anything. They were constantly going 3 and out. To say anyone can move the ball "at will" is flat wrong. You saw Cuff shred us two years in a row so your viewpoint is different.





HUH? Isn't this true for every football team in America? If the holes are huge its easy, if they are small it's not. Sounds elementary to me. No one runs the zone runs and power runs better than us. I think the major fault with us is that once we get a lead, even a small one, we run the ball to keep the clock going. We don't put enough pressure on defenses with the passing game. We have the horses this year in the passing game so we'll see:nod:

Relax, a little constructive criticism, no need to get up in arms about it. Like I said, it takes a very good running game to be able to run on JMU, and as such, very few teams are able to. But when they can, they can run till the cows come home. As for the offense, I agree we'll see if you can throw it - I just don't think Mickey's going to go that way - he likes to run and the team is still built to run.

[SoCon48]

http://www.dailynews-record.com/sports_details.php?AID=5710&CHID=3

If the dude had just been more careful, App wouldn't have to deal with him.

Things could have been different for Apted, too. He was slated to be the top backup linemen for the Utah Utes this season. But Apted’s fiancee got pregnant and the couple moved to Virginia to be closer to her family in the Shenandoah Valley, prompting Apted to transfer to Madison:eyebrow: