ASU/UR Matchups

[appstate38]

Since its still a few days away from the 3rd installment of a budding rivalry I figured its time to look at some matchups and see what the opinons of this board are as to which team has the advantages and it what areas.

QB- ASU (Ward is a solid QB and a proven winner; a healthy Edwards wins it for me here. But he is anything like last week then this could be a toss up)

RB- Toss up for me here. Both do what is asked of them and they are able to make plays when called upon.

WR- ASU If Coco was in the line up then I think the Apps would have a slightly better advantage but then again still could be too close to call.

OL- once again for me I think it is too close to call because they both do what they do very well.

DL- UR (Apps have been better up front but I still give it to the Spiders)

LB- ASU (homer Pick) DJ Smith is all over the field

DB- toss up but leaning toward the Spiders on this one.

Kicking game--- xconfusedx Both kickers seem to miss makeable kicks way too often, and it big spots during games.

[soccerguy315]

so to recap...

QB - toss up
RB - toss up
WR - toss up
OL - toss up
DL - UR
LB - ASU
DB - toss up
special teams - toss up

looks even to me. Should be a great game!

[ASUG8]

Since its still a few days away from the 3rd installment of a budding rivalry I figured its time to look at some matchups and see what the opinons of this board are as to which team has the advantages and it what areas.

QB- ASU (Ward is a solid QB and a proven winner; a healthy Edwards wins it for me here. But he is anything like last week then this could be a toss up)

RB- Toss up for me here. Both do what is asked of them and they are able to make plays when called upon.

WR- ASU If Coco was in the line up then I think the Apps would have a slightly better advantage but then again still could be too close to call.

OL- once again for me I think it is too close to call because they both do what they do very well.

DL- UR (Apps have been better up front but I still give it to the Spiders)

LB- ASU (homer Pick) DJ Smith is all over the field

DB- toss up but leaning toward the Spiders on this one.

Kicking game--- xconfusedx Both kickers seem to miss makeable kicks way too often, and it big spots during games.

Pick somebody...

[Saint3333]

QB - BIG ? - Heathly AE - ASU, 75% AE - UR
RB - ASU
WR - Push - Quick and Cline are better than UR's WR, but they have 3 WR that are much better ASU's 3rd WR, we miss CoCo
OL - UR - both in quality and quantity
DL - UR - see OL
LB - ASU - Smith and Roman are two of the best in the FCS
DB - Push - Similar to the WR situation, LeGree and Gilbert are better than UR's, but UR's four guys are better than McDuffie and Gainey
SPECIAL teams - Push - Punting ASU, Punt Returns UR, Kickoffs ASU, Kickoff returns UR, FG kicking hold your breath for both

Recap - ASU 2, UR 2, pushes the rest of the way with a ???? for AE.

If the weather is nasty as projected this favors UR with advantage in the trenches.

[Skjellyfetti]

I think I give us the edge at running back and I'd give UR the edge at OL.

[State Line Liquors]

App St is #3 in total offense / Richmond is #47

Richmond is #14 in total defense / App St #32 - UR #7 in scoring defense / App #40

Richmond is more experienced on both sides of the ball.

App State has Armanti.

Richmond has 15 all conference members - 3 teams

App State has 15 all conference member - 2 teams

Keys:
Is Edwards healthy enough to get outside the pocket?
Can Richmond force the tempo of football that they like playing? - It's not pretty, but the # in the win column speaks for itself. They win ugly, and they like it.

[appstate38]

Pick somebody...

Why do you have to call me out like that?????xsmiley_wix

You know I am going with the Apps.

[Hoyadestroya85]

I'd give the LB advantage to UR.. they have a top 5 corps of linebackers.. Weldon is an absolute Meast.

[DLS]

qb-app
rb- app, very deep with little drop off, not a fan of radford up the middle tho.
oline-ur, our gaurds suck
wr- push, due to injuries
dline-app, alot of progress as of late
lb- app, two best and then frazier hits like a son of a b
db- app, very high energy and constantly looking to snag something

sp teams - ur, i hate our special teams

[ASUG8]

Why do you have to call me out like that?????xsmiley_wix

You know I am going with the Apps.

You appeared terminally ambivalent, so I thought you needed a push. xrolleyesx :D

[mcveyrl]

I'd give the LB advantage to UR.. they have a top 5 corps of linebackers.. Weldon is an absolute Meast.

Isn't Weldon the one that terrorized AE last year?

[asknoquarter21]

Isn't Weldon the one that terrorized AE last year?

sidbury?

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

qb-app
rb- app, very deep with little drop off, not a fan of radford up the middle tho.
oline-ur, our gaurds suck
wr- push, due to injuries
dline-app, alot of progress as of late
lb- app, two best and then frazier hits like a son of a b
db- app, very high energy and constantly looking to snag something

sp teams - ur, i hate our special teams

Your special teams must be really bad to give us the advantage...

I would give Richmond advantage at O-line and Wide Recievers. Give App the advantage at RB and call the rest a push (considering a less than 100% Edwards).

[Skjellyfetti]

Isn't Weldon the one that terrorized AE last year?

Seth Williams?

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Isn't Weldon the one that terrorized AE last year?

Yes, I haven't pulled up the box score, but he had at least 10 tackles. Seems most of them were on Edwards.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Seth Williams.

Yeah, that would be another one. Is AE looking forward to re-connecting with his favorite Reciever?

[Skjellyfetti]

Yeah, that would be another one. Is AE looking forward to re-connecting with his favorite Reciever?

Hopefully he's ready to connect his cleet to his sternum.

[asknoquarter21]

QB- ASU- Armanti was over 75% last week but Moore told him not to run, Armanti ran and he took him out the next play. Armanti will be fine.

RB- ASU- This one is close, but I think Moore and company do more with less blocking than UR.

WR- UR- No question to me here, Quick is the best WR of the bunch and Cline is somewhere in the top 5 but 3 out of 5 go to UR and they probably have #2,3,4 in this game.

OL- UR- ASU has a good O-Line and they have played well some games. AE being healthy will make them look better, but this one isn't close.

DL- UR- Not possible that they are as good as last season, but from what I have seen they look like they might be. A huge strength of the UR team.

LB- ASU- UR is a top 5 LB core? probably. ASU has Jacque Roman, and D.J. Smith, ASU might be #1 in LB core. Both are top 5 though.

DB- UR- Again this one is very close. UR might look better because of a great DL, but I just think they have too many playmakers and no real weaknesses in the secondary.

ST- UR- They can't be worse than ours sans Sam Martin

[ur2k]

"Sophomore LB Patrick Weldon tied his career high with 11 tackles, had a career-high four tackles for loss, had a sack and a pass breakup"

Seth Williams had 3 picks, Michael Ireland 1, and Justin Rogers 1

All those guys are still on the team.

From last year's write up on the game

http://www.richmondspiders.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/120608aaa.html

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

"Sophomore LB Patrick Weldon tied his career high with 11 tackles, had a career-high four tackles for loss, had a sack and a pass breakup"

Seth Williams had 3 picks, Michael Ireland 1, and Justin Rogers 1

All those guys are still on the team.

From last year's write up on the game

http://www.richmondspiders.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/120608aaa.html

Right. And Weldon is our only Starting linebacker that DIDN'T make 1st team All-CAA. If ASU has a better Linebacking corps, I will be interested in seeing it. Shoop, Sullivan, and McMillan as backups could start at most other places in the CAA.

[mcveyrl]

Isn't Weldon the one that terrorized AE last year?


sidbury?


Seth Williams?

Do you guys need a scout or somethin'? 'Cause, uh, I'm not doing much this month...:D

[DLS]

Your special teams must be really bad to give us the advantage...

I would give Richmond advantage at O-line and Wide Recievers. Give App the advantage at RB and call the rest a push (considering a less than 100% Edwards).


good at covering and blocking. used to be good at returning with coco.

everything else is a hold your breath and pray moment.

[Waco Kid]

Everyone needs to stop looking back at last years game when discussing this years game. Nothing that happened last year matters this year. While I'm not 100% up on UR's team this year I do know they lost a few impact players from 08. ASU is a much different animal than what we all saw in last years playoffs especially on defense and if #14 is healthy the offense will be MUCH better than last December.

Bottom line 08 is over.

[theasushow]

Everyone needs to stop looking back at last years game when discussing this years game. Nothing that happened last year matters this year. While I'm not 100% up on UR's team this year I do know they lost a few impact players from 08. ASU is a much different animal than what we all saw in last years playoffs especially on defense and if #14 is healthy the offense will be MUCH better than last December.

Bottom line 08 is over.

Agreed, I think this time last year we we're looking back at what happened in 2007...obviously that didn't matter much.

[Waco Kid]

Right. And Weldon is our only Starting linebacker that DIDN'T make 1st team All-CAA. If ASU has a better Linebacking corps, I will be interested in seeing it. Shoop, Sullivan, and McMillan as backups could start at most other places in the CAA.

Well we do have the FCS active leader in tackles (Roman) and the #5 leader in tackles in Smith. Both are 1st team all SoCon and both have won AA honors. Roman was also the conference defensive POY in 08. I think we are ok at LB.

[B&G]

I have to disagree fellas, I think ASU's special teams is pretty decent. They can be caught off guard with trick plays but they've otherwise been at least average if not solid. Sam Martin is doing great on punts and kickoffs. Our coverage teams have been improving. The return game took a hit when Coco got hurt but is still pretty good. Everyone trips about Jason Vitaris but a 70% FG success rate is pretty decent on the FCS level. He has a problem kicking from the right hash mark but he is accurate with range if the ball is ever centered or on the left hash.

I believe ASU has the edge on Special Teams.

Another question is this... which team has the edge in intangibles and coaching?

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Another question is this... which team has the edge in intangibles and coaching?

They're 'intangible' ... who knows? xlolxxlolxxlolx

Seriously, though, we have had some real questionable uses of time, timeouts, etc. at the end of half/game situations. Hopefully we tighten that up on Saturday night.

[AshevilleApp]

In terms of LB, and I'm aware that stats do not paint the whole picture

DJ Smith (ASU): Deserves All-American recognition
Tackles - 113
TFL - 12
Sacks - 2
Interceptions - 1
Breakups - 7
Passes Defended - 8
QB Hurries - 5
Fumbles Recovered - 2
Fumbles Forced - 1

Jacque Roman (ASU): Team leader but down year statistically
Tackles - 93
TFL - 1
Interceptions - 1
Passes Defended - 1
QB Hurries - 3
Fumbles Forced - 1

Patrick Weldon (Richmond)
Tackels - 81
TFL - 4.5
Sacks - 1
Ints - 2
Breaks Ups - 4
QB Hurries - 1

Colin McConaghy (Richmond)
Tackles - 89
TFL - 4.5
Sacks - 0.5
Int - 1
Breaks Ups - 3
QB Hurries - 6
Fumbles Forced - 1

Eric McBride (Richmond)
Tackles - 84
TFL - 3.5
Sacks - 1
Breaks Ups - 4
QB Hurries - 1
Fumbles Recovered - 3
Fumbles Forced - 2

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

In terms of LB, and I'm aware that stats do not paint the whole picture


You're right. These stats don't paint the whole picture. I do think the more appropriate question, given that they've played all different opponents and played in different schemes is ... 'Do stats paint any picture'?

[AshevilleApp]

You're right. These stats don't paint the whole picture. I do think the more appropriate question, given that they've played all different opponents and played in different schemes is ... 'Do stats paint any picture'?

I think at the least they stake a claim that DJ Smith is a pretty darn good linebacker that is all over the field.

and you could argue that Richmond has a very strong set of starting LBs

[SpidersSportsEditor]

I think at the least they stake a claim that DJ Smith is a pretty darn good linebacker that is all over the field.

and you could argue that Richmond has a very strong set of starting LBs

The entire linebacking corp for UR is solid, and Eric McBride is a beast.