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DetroitFlyer

August 17th, 2007, 01:24 PM

Here are some good links to read what the best minds in the business have to say about the PFL in 2007....

http://www.geocities.com/lurkingd/

http://pflfan.proboards26.com/index.cgi?board=general

http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1177

DetroitFlyer's take on Dayton and the PFL for 2007:

UD Football 2007…. I am having a harder time than usual in coming up with my predictions. For 2007, San Diego, Drake and Jacksonville all have new coaches. I have heard some rumblings that the new guy at USD is not nearly as gifted as Jim Harbaugh. Still, USD has the talent on both sides of the ball and will be the absolute favorite until proven otherwise. Drake is a bit more interesting. The new head coach is being described as an “interim” coach. He has an impressive resume and has hired some very good assistants. One has to wonder, however, how the team will respond to the new coach and the uncertainty surrounding the future. All in all, if Drake had a good QB, they just might have the talent to challenge USD. Jacksonville has hired a coach in the Jim Harbaugh mode. Kerwin Bell is a former Florida and professional QB, and has already started to build some “swagger” into the JU program. His first recruiting class looks good and there are now rumors of FBS transfers coming in! Bell is even leading the fund raising charge to build a new stadium that JU desperately needs. I think this bodes well for JU’s future. I’m not confident that 2007 will reap the full benefits of Bell’s leadership, but over the next couple of years I see JU coming on in the PFL. The sleeper of 2007 is Davidson. They have kept a low profile in the off season, although like most PFL schools their incoming recruits look good. They lost their star kicker to graduation. He is going to kick for USC, ( yes that USC in California ), in order to use up his 5th year of eligibility, ( Davidson does not often red shirt freshman and I do not think they have a graduate school ). Davidson has their excellent QB returning and their PFL co-coach of the year is gaining traction. Depending on what happens with Drake, Davidson could seriously challenge for second in the PFL this year. Butler had a large and impressive recruiting class this year. It seems obvious that Butler is tired of losing and is now doing something about it! Butler has four games against non-Division I teams this season, so they have a shot at a winning record for the first time in a long time. Morehead State also had a good recruiting class, and landed a large number of kids from our backyard in Southwestern Ohio. Much like Dayton, MSU remains a mystery. A terrible season last year with no real good explanations. Also like UD, MSU has an excellent and experienced coach so I expect better results than last season. Valparaiso is the only PFL team that I am a bit disappointed in at the moment. They do not seem to be as aggressive as the rest of the PFL in working to improve the program. There is a rumor of field turf there, which is something our Flyers cannot seem to accomplish, so there is hope. Their recruiting class was OK, but nothing special. I am comfortable in predicting the basement again for Valparaiso.

So, where do our Flyers fit in for 2007? On offense, I think the big news is the return of Jack O’Dell. He did not play last season but he has returned for 2007. He is a gifted athlete and a fine receiver / return man / punter. He and Hoyng seem to have one of those QB/Receiver things going on…. Look for big numbers for O’Dell in 2007! Nick Ruhe is also back and the combination of Hoyng / O’Dell and Ruhe will be difficult to stop through the air. Unfortunately, it also looks like we still have no running game. Our offensive line seems very ordinary. No real big hogs like 6’ 6” 298 lbs Ryan Winner, ( if I remember right ), to anchor the line. In the spring game, I did not see much evidence of the line opening up running lanes, and if the lanes existed, our backs did not seem to get there fast enough. In a very rare comment indeed, Mike Kelly indicated that freshman running back recruit Justin Millio from down in Florida might be a significant contributor in 2007. A good indication that MK does not have a great deal of faith in the current RB core…. Justin is reported to run a sub 4.4 forty or so…. Small and quick, he could be very similar to Scotty P at Drake…. Still, a good back is only as good as his line. UD has not been able to land the big kids that you seem to need today for the OL. This year’s class includes a few lineman, but they all go about 6’ and 260 lbs. Not exactly much help for the immediate future. I see the offense getting by on Hoyng’s arm and good receivers, but still struggling to keep Hoyng healthy and develop a running game. Much like last year, enough offensive production to keep UD in most games. Defense is a much bigger worry. 2006 was one of the worst defensive teams Dayton has fielded in a long, long time. There is certainly some talent coming back, Brandon Cramer as a DB for one and Brian Kelly at LB for another. Notice, however, that I did not mention a defensive lineman. In 2006, our DL seemed to really struggle with all aspects of the game. Little pressure on QB’s, and no penetration to break up running plays. I’m not optimistic that we will be much better in 2007. We might return to a 4/3 defensive scheme which I think would help a great deal. Let Brandon and Brian lead the secondary while the 4 lineman up front do their best to disrupt the offensive sets of our opponents. Special teams, especially kicking remain a concern. We lost at Davidson last year because we had zero confidence in our kicking game. In watching the spring game, our kickers seem to do fine when practicing by themselves. Put them behind a line with a center and a holder and all bets are off. We recruited a kicker, but I’m thinking he is for the future…. Look for kicking to be a problem again in 2007. Maybe if we can get Steve Valentino in as the holder, things will get better.

For 2007, I have to admit to being a bit pessimistic based on last year’s shocking results. Aside from USD, however, we did not get blown out and were in every game. You have to think with Mike Kelly’s talent we win some of the close ones in 2007.

At Robert Morris: Not feeling good. First game, on the road, against a team that finished 2006 very hot. I see a loss here, close, but a loss.

Hosting Urbana: Easy win. Urbana is a bad NAIA team.

Hosting Central State: Close win. CSU is a bad Division II team, but they hung in with FCS power Hampton last year. They will play up to UD and the fan buzz will be strong.

At Fordham: Tough to call. Fordham has been struggling for a while. UD has a poor history in “play up” games, especially on the road. This is where some Jim Harbaugh swagger would come in handy. I see a loss at Fordham, but probably a very competitive game.

At Morehead State: Another close game. We win this time around.

Host Jacksonville. Close again, but we win at home.

Host Davidson: I see a loss here. Davidson is my pick for most surprising team in the PFL for 2007.

At Valparaiso: A win on the road, but closer than you might think.

Host San Diego: Another big loss. Too much talent at USD. If we avoid our biggest home loss ever, ( which I think already belongs to USD ), we will be doing well….

Host Butler: Last years bitter loss and ensuing meltdown will be on everyone’s mind. MK’s rival, at home, too bad for Butler. A big win for UD!

At Drake: Still too much talent for UD. A close loss on the road.

Season: 6-5. Back to winning records, but not by much. Swing games in my mind are Davidson and maybe Robert Morris / Drake. We just might be able to win 2/3 of those games, so 8-3 is not out of the question. We just might be able to pull off a win at Fordham, so 9-2 is my top end!

As for the PFL:

1. San Diego
2. Drake
3. Davidson
4. Dayton
5. Jacksonville
6. Butler
7. Morehead State
8. Valparaiso

Competition between 4,5,6,7 will be fierce and could be rearranged very easily….