CAA Scrimmage/Practice Notes

[jstclmet]

I saw 5 schools in 4 days. The following are some brief notes;

Thu - UNH
The offense looks good, Toman looked sharp, the RB's looked good, the OL looked and played well.

The defense did not have a good day.

Speaking with Coach Mac at the end of practice, he said some days the offense had good days, and some days the defense has good days. On those days, the other side of the ball will always not look so good. He wishes he could bottle a formula for both sides to have good days on the same day. I asked does UNH playing @ the FBS level ever come up in discussion, and he replied "No". We have to crawl before we can walk. One interesting note is that UNH until last Dec, never had to play in the snow. They've played in heavy rain and wind, but last Dec at Nova was the first time they played in those type conditions.

Fri - URI
The URI defense played well against the run, but were content to play back in coverage allowing the URI offense to pick up 5 - 7 yards underneath and move the ball down field. URI did not play the pass well. Chris Paul-Etienne had his left knee wrapped and did not participate, but will be ready on opening day. Steve Probst (QB xfer from HU) and Billy Morgan (WR xfer from HU) played well. Coach Trainer is excited about the Ram's progress, and passionate about playing in the CAA. I didn't have the heart to ask him about URI possibly moving to the NEC.

Sat a.m. - JMU
JMU has always been built on speed. The 2010 team is no different. I don't know why I was surprised, but JMU can and will get after you all over the field. The whistles were quick, so there were few opportunities for the Dukes to finish tackles, but you have to assume they would have as they were there on practically every play. Ronnell Brown did not participate, thus there was no real noticeable pass rush. However, on one occasion when Dudzik rolled left, and OLB was there to tap him on the shoulder, but pulled up and allowed Dudzik to make the throw.

The surprise of camp has been WR #23 Kirby Long. Coach Matthews stated that both Long and #29 Lee Reynolds could very well make people forget about Scotty McGee. There is no clear cut starter at RB. RB will most likely be by committee. The only time the JMU defense got really beat was when Dudzik and Thorpe pulled the ball down and ran. After practice back in the Coach's office, the OC told Coach Matthews that Dudzik will have to play better. Dudzik played with the 1's and looked better than Thorpe who played with the 2's. The offense is not yet where it wants to be.

Re: JMU going FBS, Coach Matthews is content with the rivalries and the conference the Dukes are currently in. The Administration would have to find a conference for the Dukes to play in before JMU would move to FBS which is not out of the question.

Sat p.m. - UR
UR's defense had the better of the day, and IMHO, UR's defense will have to carry the team this year. If the defense can keep the opposing offenses down, keep the opponents scoring to the 10 - 14 pt range, and provide some points on defense or TO's giving UR a short field, this may be enough of a boost for the UR offense. Neither QB looked very effective, nor did the OL blocking. RB will be by committee. UR will live and die with it's defense.

Sun - Nova
Whitney did not participate in the live action drills. MLB Kirkland also did not participate due to illness. Nova's concerns are on the DL. They have some athletes, but they appear to have trouble bending as the OL would get inside their pads neutralizing any type of rush. The Nova OL would make any DL look average though. Fr QB, Dustin Thomas looks to be Whitney heir apparent, and Nova looks to be in good hands in the future as they also just rec'd two high profile QB commitments. Winning a NC along with BEC discussions can't hurt recruiting.

Coach Talley confirmed that he did not know what was in the future for Nova, that he wanted to focus on the 2010 season, but Nova could be playing in the BEC next year.

I'm going to try and get to UD and TU this week.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I saw 5 schools in 4 days. The following are some brief notes;

Thu - UNH
The offense looks good, Toman looked sharp, the RB's looked good, the OL looked and played well.

The defense did not have a good day.

Speaking with Coach Mac at the end of practice, he said some days the offense had good days, and some days the defense has good days. On those days, the other side of the ball will always not look so good. He wishes he could bottle a formula for both sides to have good days on the same day. I asked does UNH playing @ the FBS level ever come up in discussion, and he replied "No". We have to crawl before we can walk. One interesting note is that UNH until last Dec, never had to play in the snow. They've played in heavy rain and wind, but last Dec at Nova was the first time they played in those type conditions.

Should have known you'd post this on AGS too! xbangx xlolx

Like I said over there, for the record UNH played on a snow covered field in the season ending game at Maine in 2008. And the offense struggled that day too. Thankfully, Maine 2008 wasn't as strong as Villanova 2009 and my Wildcats managed to win and keep the musket!

Our home playoff game in 2005 against Colgate was also played in minor snow squalls and flurries.

In general, UNH has not been a power football team and adverse conditions are always going to have a negative effect on my Wildcats. I recall a game vs. Hofstra played in the remnants of a hurricane that was 10-6 or something like that. Might have been the day of the Lake Meade incident? We still had natural turf and I think we only passed like three times all game. Pretty much took David Ball out of the mix! xrotatehx :(

Pretty dedicated making a Northern tour to watch practice!! xsmileyclapx xsmileyclapx

[bostonspider]

Ah good old Lake Meade..

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rich/galleries/m-footbl-102802/107-0713_IMG-lg.jpg

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rich/galleries/m-footbl-102802/107-0717_IMG-lg.jpg


Looks a lot better these days.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/uri/sports/genrel/auto_player/2095956.jpeg

[Tribe4SF]

Should have known you'd post this on AGS too! xbangx xlolx

Like I said over there, for the record UNH played on a snow covered field in the season ending game at Maine in 2008. And the offense struggled that day too. Thankfully, Maine 2008 wasn't as strong as Villanova 2009 and my Wildcats managed to win and keep the musket!

Our home playoff game in 2005 against Colgate was also played in minor snow squalls and flurries.

In general, UNH has not been a power football team and adverse conditions are always going to have a negative effect on my Wildcats. I recall a game vs. Hofstra played in the remnants of a hurricane that was 10-6 or something like that. Might have been the day of the Lake Meade incident? We still had natural turf and I think we only passed like three times all game. Pretty much took David Ball out of the mix! xrotatehx :(

Pretty dedicated making a Northern tour to watch practice!! xsmileyclapx xsmileyclapx

Don't forget the Wildcats matchups with W&M in 2004 and 2005. Both messy affairs, especially the 2004 game at UNH.

First two pictures below are from the '04 game, and the second two from '05. Edit: First and last are '05...middle two from '04.

[UNH72Plus]

Should have known you'd post this on AGS too! xbangx xlolx

Like I said over there, for the record UNH played on a snow covered field in the season ending game at Maine in 2008. And the offense struggled that day too. Thankfully, Maine 2008 wasn't as strong as Villanova 2009 and my Wildcats managed to win and keep the musket!

Our home playoff game in 2005 against Colgate was also played in minor snow squalls and flurries.

In general, UNH has not been a power football team and adverse conditions are always going to have a negative effect on my Wildcats. I recall a game vs. Hofstra played in the remnants of a hurricane that was 10-6 or something like that. Might have been the day of the Lake Meade incident? We still had natural turf and I think we only passed like three times all game. Pretty much took David Ball out of the mix! xrotatehx :(

Pretty dedicated making a Northern tour to watch practice!! xsmileyclapx xsmileyclapx

If memory serves, that hofstra game was Parent's Weekend and the rain was torrential and horizontal! Probably kept Ball from setting at least one more receiving record.

Speaking of Ball, I see has been picked up by the Hamilton Tigercats and placed on there practice squad.

[TokyoGriz]

Ah good old Lake Meade..

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rich/galleries/m-footbl-102802/107-0713_IMG-lg.jpg

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rich/galleries/m-footbl-102802/107-0717_IMG-lg.jpg


HOLY SMOKES! That is some serious Drainage issues! xlolxxlolx

You guys use to have to cancel evertime it rained or what ?

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

If memory serves, that hofstra game was Parent's Weekend and the rain was torrential and horizontal! Probably kept Ball from setting at least one more receiving record.

Speaking of Ball, I see has been picked up by the Hamilton Tigercats and placed on there practice squad.

Yeah, it was a very windy day. I recall hearing the weather and traffic reports then figured I couldn't get to Durham in time for kickoff. You couldn't even do 40 MPH on the Interstates, less if a downed tree came into play! Oh yeah, did a little research and the game was on 10/28/2006 and indeed was a 10-6 UNH win.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Don't forget the Wildcats matchups with W&M in 2004 and 2005. Both messy affairs, especially the 2004 game at UNH.

First two pictures below are from the '04 game, and the second two from '05. Edit: First and last are '05...middle two from '04.

I was at that 2004 quagmire!! UNH managed to get a TD in the first quarter, but missed three FGs after that. W&M made three FG's and won 9-7. The W&M kicker was the difference on that day!!

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

HOLY SMOKES! That is some serious Drainage issues! xlolxxlolx

You guys use to have to cancel evertime it rained or what ?

Pretty sure it was a one time occurrence.

There have been some pretty serious rain events in the Fall in New England the past decade. UNH had two home games in a row played in monsoons in 2005 that required the field to be re-sodded in late October!! Remnants of hurricanes might not have damaging winds, but they still bring prodigious amounts of rain.

The field got torn up again with that Hofstra game in 2006. Field turf in Cowell today.

[jstclmet]

Saw UD & TU practice today;

Re: UD, their practice began @ 8:15. I arrived @ 9:15, and it rained continuously. I stayed under a tent and took photos from afar. I could see QB's (Sasek & Burns) throwing passes to WR's on a field to my right, completing most of them. I saw one get picked, and several others knocked down, but the WR's got the better of the matchups.

On the middle field Devlin and the 1's were executing the running game against a Def 7 from about the 20 in. As they were on the opposite 20 going in that direction, I could not tell how effective they were at creating holes.

UD had pretty much been the walking wounded on defense since the Spring. They're almost 100% healthy with some issues remaing on the DL. While they're capable of playing in the first game against WCU, Several of the DL starters may be held out in order to have them ready for SDSU. SDSU plays smashmouth football, and the UD coaching staff wants to have its full contingent of DL available for that game.

Re: FBS, UD has its eye on the FCS and CAA landscape, and is very well aware that some schools are positiioning themselves for a move to FBS, while others are doing their very best to keep a grip on their position in the CAA. UD does not want to be left in a conference that is no longer the #1 conference in FCS. Long range goals include wrapping the stands around the endzone where the scoreboard now resides.

The question I was asked is "WHAT IS NOVA DOING??" There is a hope that Nova does go FBS as this might be the domino that pushes UD into making that same decision.

Re: Towson;
Towson practiced in uppers today, and while the defense did tackle the offense on occasion, the coaches did their best to keep everyone up. The TU skill players appeared to be a step or 2 faster than the defense. In fact, IMHO, the offense had the better of the day. Didn't realize how small QB Athens was (Pat Haden like). Coach Ambrose said he appeared much taller last year, but this year TU has some bigger OL, and now Athens looks small compared to them. Athens also looked small compared to the other 4 QB's. Coach Ambrose told me in June and he mentioned it again today that on both sides of the ball, the lineman are 15 - 20 lbs heavier and stronger. IMHO of the 7 teams I saw over the past two weekends, TU has the smallest OL/DL. Coach Ambrose admits they're still a couple of players short, but they're getting better.

Re: FBS, TU also has their eye on that prize. First things first, they must win games and fill their stadium. In 10 years, TU will be a different program.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Should have known you'd post this on AGS too! xbangx xlolx

Like I said over there, for the record UNH played on a snow covered field in the season ending game at Maine in 2008. And the offense struggled that day too. Thankfully, Maine 2008 wasn't as strong as Villanova 2009 and my Wildcats managed to win and keep the musket!

Our home playoff game in 2005 against Colgate was also played in minor snow squalls and flurries.

In general, UNH has not been a power football team and adverse conditions are always going to have a negative effect on my Wildcats. I recall a game vs. Hofstra played in the remnants of a hurricane that was 10-6 or something like that. Might have been the day of the Lake Meade incident? We still had natural turf and I think we only passed like three times all game. Pretty much took David Ball out of the mix! xrotatehx :(

Pretty dedicated making a Northern tour to watch practice!! xsmileyclapx xsmileyclapx

It snowed during that game in Maine. It had stopped by the end, but snowed most of the first half.

[jmufan999]

wow, this is really some **** good information. thanks. how on earth did you make it to all these places? retired? self-employed?

[jmufan999]

i can't say d a m n? my god, i've heard worse than that on ABC Family. ok, not really. but that's barely even a curse word these days.

[WrenFGun]

Yeah, it was a very windy day. I recall hearing the weather and traffic reports then figured I couldn't get to Durham in time for kickoff. You couldn't even do 40 MPH on the Interstates, less if a downed tree came into play! Oh yeah, did a little research and the game was on 10/28/2006 and indeed was a 10-6 UNH win.

As one of about six people in the student section during that game, I recall a couple players running out wondering "what the F are these morons doing in the stands?" It was absolutely freezing. As I recall it was actually 10-0 late, and Hofstra got a TD with something like :13 to go, and then recovered an onside kick and nearly completed a miracle victory. God it was cold.

[jstclmet]

wow, this is really some **** good information. thanks. how on earth did you make it to all these places? retired? self-employed?

Saw JMU & UR on Sat 8/14, saw Nova on Sun 8/15, saw UD & TU on Sun 8/22. UNH & URI cost me 2 Vacation Days. Wanted to see UMass on Thu 8/12 along with UNH but their practice was closed to the Media that day. Didn't want to lose another Vac day last Tue 8/17. W&M' conflicted with UR, so I decided to go see UR while I was down in Va and check out the new stadium. Maine wasn't going to happen, but I plan on seeing them when they play Nova.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Saw JMU & UR on Sat 8/14, saw Nova on Sun 8/15, saw UD & TU on Sun 8/22. UNH & URI cost me 2 Vacation Days. Wanted to see UMass on Thu 8/12 along with UNH but their practice was closed to the Media that day. Didn't want to lose another Vac day last Tue 8/17. W&M' conflicted with UR, so I decided to go see UR while I was down in Va and check out the new stadium. Maine wasn't going to happen, but I plan on seeing them when they play Nova.

Did you drive all that?

Great job!