Patriot League 2018 - way way way to early

[RichH2]

A very positive preview of Cross going forward. Agree other than QB, biggest issue for Chesney is the 2ndary. Gilmore never could develop a solid one . Well coached but dreadfully slow. Chesney does have some speed now but unit very porous last year.

[Sader87]

A very positive preview of Cross going forward. Agree other than QB, biggest issue for Chesney is the 2ndary. Gilmore never could develop a solid one . Well coached but dreadfully slow. Chesney does have some speed now but unit very porous last year.

Early injuries to the secondary, Riley at S in particular, really hampered that unit last year...hopefully a little more depth, a little more luck with injuries there this year.

[carney2]

Lafayette's future schedules are out and include @ Navy in 2020 and @ Air Force in 2021. Sorry, no mention of @ Alabama.

[TheValleyRaider]

Games coming this weekend, is it really "too early" anymore?

You might even say it's getting late early around here xrotatehx

[RichH2]

Games coming this weekend, is it really "too early" anymore?

You might even say it's getting late early around here xrotatehx

And we're too lazy to retitle the thread and too stubborn to let it die a natural death. :)

[BucBisonAtLarge]

We also mopped up the other conferences' threads in verbosity. I give credit to the Lehigh handwringing there in the first two thirds of the off-season. Imagine if they felt good about themselves...

[RichH2]

We also mopped up the other conferences' threads in verbosity. I give credit to the Lehigh handwringing there in the first two thirds of the off-season. Imagine if they felt good about themselves...


Actually we are a bit better with good teams. Winning seasons are great but we ( old alums like me) always expect shoe to drop. Ive seen us go up and then down then up again. Down is very fast. Up takes years.

[DFW HOYA]

This thread might outlive the Lafayette-UNH game recap.

[RichH2]

This thread might outlive the Lafayette-UNH game recap.

Perhaps but without Bogie to spur us on I am doubtful.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Wedge's Lafayette Preview

http://thefcswedge.com/uncategorized/patriot-league-2018-lafayette-preview/

The Leopards early season schedule does suck! O'Malley better figure things out....

[RichH2]

On point as usual. It does appear that Pards could start year with a veteran OL. Odds are not good that will continue tho. Pards ran a very vanilla O last year with a frosh QB and a patchwork OL. Should be better if not yet good. Not much help in the skills postions. Payne may really help here. D will be stout. If O struggles, D will be on field way too much , subject to fades late in games again.

[Go...gate]

This thread might outlive the Lafayette-UNH game recap.

xlolxxrotatehx

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Is it true that Freshnock is out for the Bison?!?! xsmhx

They also went back to Chiarolanzio as the starter. Not surprising but just limited upside. They're in big trouble imo...

[RichH2]

Is it true that Freshnock is out for the Bison?!?! xsmhx

They also went back to Chiarolanzio as the starter. Not surprising but just limited upside. They're in big trouble imo...

Good source. Saw it on Bison board last night. Do expect Susan to get his frosh QB ready for PL if he can. Otherwise another year of no scoring.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Good source. Saw it on Bison board last night. Do expect Susan to get his frosh QB ready for PL if he can. Otherwise another year of no scoring.

That's brutal! Wilson is solid but a much different back. Freshnock is the type of grinder the Bison need. I agree on the freshman QB. Susan needs guys who can make plays and right now it's hard to find them. Chiarolanzio can be painful to watch at times....too much time...

[DFW HOYA]

In other news, Georgetown's #2 QB from last season (Clay Norris) did not return this season and #3 (Joe Brunell) is out for the season with an injury. If Gunther Johnson gets hurt, no QB on the depth chart has any prior game experience.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The Wedge's last preview, Lehigh...

http://thefcswedge.com/a-look-at-what-is-happening-around-the-country/patriot-league-2018-lehigh-preview/

6-5'ish seems like the common theme. This might be the strangest Lehigh team ever heading into a season...

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

In other news, Georgetown's #2 QB from last season (Clay Norris) did not return this season and #3 (Joe Brunell) is out for the season with an injury. If Gunther Johnson gets hurt, no QB on the depth chart has any prior game experience.

Does Brian Mitchell have any eligibility left? :D

Bucknell and Georgetown are where they are because of things like this. For whatever reason, legit skill position talent has been hard to come by....

[LUHawker]

The Wedge's last preview, Lehigh...

http://thefcswedge.com/a-look-at-what-is-happening-around-the-country/patriot-league-2018-lehigh-preview/

6-5'ish seems like the common theme. This might be the strangest Lehigh team ever heading into a season...

I thought it was a very fair assessment. Colgate is the logical pick given their depth and what they return, but the PL has a long history where the preseason favorite does not claim the top spot.

A strong start would go a long way this year after tepid and poor starts the last couple of years.

[carney2]

It does appear that Pards could start year with a veteran OL.

Not so. Looks like a lot of inexperienced guys who have never played together before. At least the opponent will be Sacred Heart who only return 2 or 3 starters on defense. If the Pards can't handle this it may be an even longer year than usual. For a nothing opener against a bad team, this is something of a bellwether for the Pards.

[RichH2]

The Wedge's last preview, Lehigh...

http://thefcswedge.com/a-look-at-what-is-happening-around-the-country/patriot-league-2018-lehigh-preview/

6-5'ish seems like the common theme. This might be the strangest Lehigh team ever heading into a season...

Intelligent preview. Agree the big if is not whether D will be better but whether it will be good. If we can survive OOC relatively healthy, I believe a good D is more than possible.
An adequate D with productive, if not as dominant O, 7 Ws is reasonable. A good D, 8 perhaps. 9 Ws.
A bad D yet again 5 Ws would be an achievement.

[ngineer]

The Wedge's last preview, Lehigh...

http://thefcswedge.com/a-look-at-what-is-happening-around-the-country/patriot-league-2018-lehigh-preview/

6-5'ish seems like the common theme. This might be the strangest Lehigh team ever heading into a season...

I agree this is a good capsule of what our season will be ....very up in the air. Other than Navy, a decent D gives this Lehigh team a chance in all other OOC games. Then we get down to Colgate with Fordham a bubble challenger . OL can hopefully gel with the newbies. New OL coach seemed very upbeat at the Steak Fry. Kurshurba is a high energy guy and I expect more 'juice' in the front 7. We may have the best secondary in the PL, so if the guys upfront can get the job done, it will be a three-peat. If not, we'll be lucky to win 4 games.

[RichH2]

I agree this is a good capsule of what our season will be ....very up in the air. Other than Navy, a decent D gives this Lehigh team a chance in all other OOC games. Then we get down to Colgate with Fordham a bubble challenger . OL can hopefully gel with the newbies. New OL coach seemed very upbeat at the Steak Fry. Kurshurba is a high energy guy and I expect more 'juice' in the front 7. We may have the best secondary in the PL, so if the guys upfront can get the job done, it will be a three-peat. If not, we'll be lucky to win 4 games.


When was the last time we had actually real hope that D could be good? You're right tho our success this year depends on the D.

[Bill]

When was the last time we had actually real hope that D could be good? You're right tho our success this year depends on the D.

Back when Tom...and then Shannon were running the show xnodx
Those were GOOD defenses...

[RichH2]

Back when Tom...and then Shannon were running the show xnodx
Those were GOOD defenses...

+1 Yup. For me Coach K was the most creative coach we've ever had. Great game caller and a genius at creating blitzes. We may not have had the best talent but we had a D that got us Ws.

[The Boogie Down]

When was the last time we had actually real hope that D could be good?

Whaaa??? Did ya check the archives from 12 months ago?

Seems like every Lehigh fan here was convinced that certain changes were made following the UNH debacle to bring about a strong D. More specifically, the secondary was gonna start tackling and adjustments at LB would allow that core shine. In fact, the only person who strongly went against conventional wisdom was "GangTackle" who predicted that even Villanova's weak offense would be able to move at will through Lehigh's "D."

So yeah, until the Villanova contest there was lots-n-lots of real hope from you guys about your "improved" D. Just like prior to the UNH debacle everyone here was inline w/thinking that a win up there should not be considered an upset since Lehigh had the slightly better side.

Not to make fun of you guys b/c over the past 2 years Fordham's D has been just as bad, if not worse, but when it comes to "real hope," Lehigh fans always seem to be full of it. Much more than Colgate fans who, at least on this board, always seem more even-keeled going into contests or Lafayette fans who, even w/an improved squad last year, have a knack for finding pessimism in everything.

[Fordham]

Not to make fun of you guys b/c over the past 2 years Fordham's D has been just as bad, if not worse, but when it comes to "real hope," Lehigh fans always seem to be full of it. Much more than Colgate fans who, at least on this board, always seem more even-keeled going into contests or Lafayette fans who, even w/an improved squad last year, have a knack for finding pessimism in everything.
it is funny and maybe painting with too broad a brush since I'm sure there are individual fans you could point to that don't share those characteristics but overall I agree with your take, particularly with the glass 1/2 full Engineers v the 1/2 empty Pards.

Curious what the view of the Fordham faithful is on here (I know that's an easy set-up for a good one-liner but genuinely asking).

[RichH2]

Whaaa??? Did ya check the archives from 12 months ago?

Seems like every Lehigh fan here was convinced that certain changes were made following the UNH debacle to bring about a strong D. More specifically, the secondary was gonna start tackling and adjustments at LB would allow that core shine. In fact, the only person who strongly went against conventional wisdom was "GangTackle" who predicted that even Villanova's weak offense would be able to move at will through Lehigh's "D."

So yeah, until the Villanova contest there was lots-n-lots of real hope from you guys about your "improved" D. Just like prior to the UNH debacle everyone here was inline w/thinking that a win up there should not be considered an upset since Lehigh had the slightly better side.

Not to make fun of you guys b/c over the past 2 years Fordham's D has been just as bad, if not worse, but when it comes to "real hope," Lehigh fans always seem to be full of it. Much more than Colgate fans who, at least on this board, always seem more even-keeled going into contests or Lafayette fans who, even w/an improved squad last year, have a knack for finding pessimism in everything.
The reason I said real hope. There were indeed a number of LU fans with wishes and prayers unconnected with any facts to support them. That LU tried this and tweaked that nothing changed. LU had the worst D in FCS last year. two major causes , pathetic tackling and injuries leading to 5 frosh starting on the back line for most of the season. Are they fixed yet? Perhaps. SFU will give us a clue. The major changes this year that give me some optimism. 1. Kashurba coaching LBs 2. Return of McCloskey and Harris to the 2ndary.3. Return to full contact practices for camp.

[ngineer]

I believe the reason many of the Lehigh faithful are glass 1/2 full types (* there are obvious exceptions on this Board) is because we have had the fortune of being fairly successful the last 20 years. There have been a few very obvious 'down' times, but overall, there has been a lot more success, which gives one hope of it returning. The great thing about college football is that the players are always changing. and the coaches, frequently too. So, to have consistently long periods of success gives one hope that they will return.

[RichH2]

I believe the reason many of the Lehigh faithful are glass 1/2 full types (* there are obvious exceptions on this Board) is because we have had the fortune of being fairly successful the last 20 years. There have been a few very obvious 'down' times, but overall, there has been a lot more success, which gives one hope of it returning. The great thing about college football is that the players are always changing. and the coaches, frequently too. So, to have consistently long periods of success gives one hope that they will return.

Well said and true. I straddle a lot of eras.Started with Lambert winner; the mid 60s deemphasis; Dunlap the lean yers then the better year; Whitehead's great years;Hank's AIRLEHIGH lots of excitement; Higgins the best years;Lembo good years marred by disaapointed expectations and now Andy mostly good but very cyclical with multiple years of downs followed by multiple years of up. Not sure where we are now. What I do know is that a program can dive quickly but takes years to recover. That is my underlying fear for Lehigh .

[DFW HOYA]

I think the frustration of following these posts is that for a top team, you would think Lehigh is circling the drain. It's still a consensus pick for 1 or 2. It has a far greater percentage of any team other than Colgate for making the playoffs, which would roughly be Colgate: 39%, Lehigh: 35%, Fordham: 10%, Lafayette: 6%, Holy Cross: 6%, Bucknell: 4%, Georgetown: 0%.

Try being Bucknell where they haven't won a title since 1996.

[RichH2]

I think the frustration of following these posts is that for a top team, you would think Lehigh is circling the drain. It's still a consensus pick for 1 or 2. It has a far greater percentage of any team other than Colgate for making the playoffs, which would roughly be Colgate: 39%, Lehigh: 35%, Fordham: 10%, Lafayette: 6%, Holy Cross: 6%, Bucknell: 4%, Georgetown: 0%.

Try being Bucknell where they haven't won a title since 1996.
We were Bucknell in the 60s and 80s. I know what it is like. And the basis for how I feel. The ease and speed that a program can sink is real. I dont expect a title this year. I expect a winning record and a much better D. That to me are the goals we must meet.

[Go...gate]

Well said and true. I straddle a lot of eras.Started with Lambert winner; the mid 60s deemphasis; Dunlap the lean yers then the better year; Whitehead's great years;Hank's AIRLEHIGH lots of excitement; Higgins the best years;Lembo good years marred by disaapointed expectations and now Andy mostly good but very cyclical with multiple years of downs followed by multiple years of up. Not sure where we are now. What I do know is that a program can dive quickly but takes years to recover. That is my underlying fear for Lehigh .

Same here for Colgate. Like you, I go back a long way and I never take anything for granted. The Red Raiders have had some very rough years and some wonderful years, and I try to take each one in stride.

[Go...gate]

I think the frustration of following these posts is that for a top team, you would think Lehigh is circling the drain. It's still a consensus pick for 1 or 2. It has a far greater percentage of any team other than Colgate for making the playoffs, which would roughly be Colgate: 39%, Lehigh: 35%, Fordham: 10%, Lafayette: 6%, Holy Cross: 6%, Bucknell: 4%, Georgetown: 0%.

Try being Bucknell where they haven't won a title since 1996.

Something went out of Bucknell after Tom Gadd died. He was really building a good program that, IMO, would have stayed in place for years to come.