For me Life should be about what is......

Exciting / Entertaining / Imaginative:


I had mentioned 3 keys to a successful Offense post snap was trying to get a numbers advantage, an angles advantage and a spacing advantage. Western Kentucky showed prolific in creating some serious space and numbers advantages all over the field and giving their QB all kinds of options. They were well known for running 4 Verts more than any other team in the country. They could also start in a Double Stack and motion to the Triangle and / or start in Trips and motion to the Triangle / Wide bunch. In the Triangle they would have one receiver run the corner route, one guy run the 1st square-in and the last guy run the 2nd square-in. Then they would switch it up and all 3 guys would switch the route responsibilities to keep the D on their toes. However, most importantly the key was the speed unto which they would get lined up and snap the ball. Within 10 seconds or less the ball would be snapped. The imagination with all the different screens and motions with the speed of play was as entertaining as it gets in the Passing Game.



On the Flip...... Life can also be about what is

Uninteresting / Humdrum / Blah / Big Yawn


For me for example it would be a ball control , time of possession , clock whore Offense that plods along.

3 Keys to a successful Offense Post-Snap:

(not in order)

1. Numbers Advantage.

2. Angles Advantage.

3. Spacing Advantage.


Trying to figure which teams do all 3 best.


Kwy concept of the day: "The Mesh".......Mesh Concept.

Power/ Counter

Williams Frosh sensation #12 Cole Morriello I heard was transferring to Yale. Also a couple other decent returning players have "hung up their boots" like #23 Dan Rayhill and a couple other good ones. Not sure why but could conjure up a guess or two.

Quote from: lumbercat on June 15, 2023, 06:54:38 PM
Charlie-
Not conjecture but I offer no guarantees- I'm just stating that the NESCAC Football coaches appear strongly unified in a structured appeal to the Colleges to allow the same competitive opportunities to Football which they provide to virtually every other NESCAC athletic program.

The HC's can be as unified as they want but until they convince the President's of the schools nothing will ever come of this pipe dream. In 1993 when Nescac allowed for NCAA participation it was Williams and Amherst President's that led the charge with the President's of Bates and Colby balking at the proposal, but in the end the Colby and Bates Presidents buckled to the pressure to either go along or risk being asked to find a new league. My point is if the top schools in the league want this then eventually the rest of them will be hard pressed not to follow.



I am just pins and needles waiting for this season to begin. Johnny gonna be prepared....

Summer Reading:

1. Becker's "The Birth and Death of Meaning"
2. Huxley's "Point Counter Point"
3. Bobby Peter's "2022 Detroit Lions Complete Offensive Manuel"

Quote from: lumbercat on May 23, 2023, 10:49:45 AM
Jonny Eph

One of the best Football Books I've read is "Football Genius". Based on Michael Lombardi's 35 year scouting and player personnel career. He worked closely with 3 great coaches/ Football minds- Al Davis, Bill Walsh and Bill Bellichick. He makes some great observations on the way they coached and ran their organizations.
Maybe a little more advanced than you are looking for but the book goes a long way in terms of characterizing the coaching and football management qualities of these 3 legends and some others.

Thanks...I got 3 other ideas , not sure if u have read any of these.....

1.  The Football Coaching Bible.
2.  Offensive / Defensive Football Systems.
3.  Blood Sweat and Chalk.

When I was watching the Williams at Trinity game it took me 20 minutes just to dissect a blocked extra point in the 2Q.

1. Trying to see why Trinity overloaded the weak side of the line against Williams' lefty kicker.

2. Why Williams lined up in the formation they were in, with what seemed like a guy on each end of the line turned and faced each sideline blocking no one. Kind of like a mini box to protect the kicker..

3. #77 John Freeman ended up isolated and blocking thin air as Trinity blasted right thru the Williams line and blocked the Xtra point. It was not his fault but my point is this Sport is intensely intricate as everyone on the field has to be watched on tape to see what happened on each and every play. Time consuming would be an understatement. Getting a base of knowledge I think would help me save a little time. We will see but thanks for ur book idea

Since Football really is not my prime sport of knowledge regarding strategy, schemes, concepts, tactics, etc (besides watching what I used to on TV) could someone recommend a good book for this? Preferably not a beginners book as I am reading George Darlington's College Football 101 and while the former U Nebraska Assistant's book is ok it is not well organized and seems a little dated. He was an assistant under Osborne and the book came out like 30 years ago. I understand formations and positions etc but more of a coaching book but one that is easy to read to begin with and then I can challenge myself. I plan on being fully prepared for 2023.

But just to be clear the former QB is 5'7. Thanks Mole for a legit answer, as for Ephman I am not bitter I just think Raymond is overrated. To go 3-6 at Williams is almost more difficult than to go 9-0....

Well ok that makes sense and I wish u had stated that in the original post as I would not have bothered to replied. He sounds like a good young HC something Williams could desperately use if this Raymond project continues its 3-6 finishes but hey at least I beat Amherst type seasons.

Serious question:

How does a 5'7 former QB educate a 6'4 QB. I mean there is a 7inch difference in height. Is it not two different games and two different styles? Or is a QB always a QB and it makes no difference? Seriously

Quote from: lumbercat on May 09, 2023, 10:51:38 AM
Coach Coynes recruiting class at Bates will be 41 incoming in the class of '27.
94 man preseason roster.
New Field Turf surface and facility enhancements being installed this summer.
Complete uniform re-design with 3 different jerseys and 3 pants options.
There is a serious rebuild underway with an immense amount of momentum in Lewiston but the team will be very young. It will take time so the Bobcat faithful will need to be patient as Coyne rebuilds the program.

Coyne is very impressive in the way he is managing the program.
Should he ever decide to enter the business world he would be a success in any role where intelligence, mental toughness and leadership qualities are important. This kid has it. Lucky to have him at Bates.

I would be careful with bringing in SO many players. Just means more disgruntled players not playing, dressing or even practicing. Which could lead to more bad reviews at the end of the year from these players. Until the HC has hit his 5 year and starts getting 3 year contracts he can be susceptible to bad reviews especially if it is compounded by other issues or a 0-9 season etc. Just sayin....better to be cautious ur first few years because things can snowball faster than u realize

Quote from: lumbercat on May 08, 2023, 09:52:07 AM
In the initial and final analysis, I think you will find that Williams has a very strong recruiting class coming in this year.

On paper maybe, which means nothing right now. Factor in possible injuries, homesick crap, adapting to speed of college game, adapting to good assistants and bad ones, academic work, etc etc and u really have no idea what u actually have until it gets on the field. However, for now I will trust ur judgement.

Quote from: Ephmen on May 04, 2023, 09:50:31 PM

Quote from: NESCACFball24/7 on May 03, 2023, 03:34:40 PM
Does anybody know anything about this school Menlo out in California?
They quietly have a pretty big contingent of kids in the league the last couple of years. Most notably Jaden Richardson at Tufts but also
Sergio Beltran at Bates (all-state QB)
Carter Jung at Amherst(all-state WR)

and incoming freshman
Avery Romain at Amherst (DL who had multiple D1 scholarship offers)
Ty Richardson at Tufts (2 Star All-state CB also with D1 scholarship offers)
Ben Banatao at Trinity
Tyler Flynn at Wesleyan
also heard from a buddy coaching in the league that they have another DL who had D1 offers and may end up in the Nescac late (pending admissions)

Head of School and Head of the Upper School both are Williams alums.  Ephs may need to start tapping that connection a bit more.

That would be too challenging and complicated for this Coaching Staff. I keep hearing excuses about only being able to bring in 20 players each year compared to everyone else's 26-28 as the reason for Williams lack of success. No doubt the HC parrots the excuse to whomever he talks to but maybe he has not fully grasped how to recruit to Williams yet. I mean it's been 8 years and yes I do realize some people learn at a slower pace but he still should have the pick of the litter for the best players. He just needs to be that more accurate than the other Nescac's with his picks. Quality over Quantity...he does not have the wiggle room to make any mistakes. It takes patience and focus. It also takes imagination to picture where a player can play in college position wise and how he will perform against the competition every week.

Perfect timing for one of my favorite quotes from the Civil Rights era. "The Photog," Ernest Withers was not an educated man but a simple one and this quote is just that.

"Be what you is, Because if you ain't what you is, you is what you ain't."
                                       -EW

Easy and simple concept to be real. You do you. Still some coaches try to be someone they are not. I think players can see right thru this


2nd Q analysis of Williams at Trinity coming soon. So much time these days so let's take our time. Life is best not rushed. I can tell you right now Trinity pounced on TWO massive Eph blunders in the 2Q as Williams showed a serious lack of focus on both plays. THAT COMES FROM THE TOP. Both plays came on Special Teams .

Obviously support from admissions is a big factor but certainly not the only one. A school like Amherst will still have advantages that some of the other Nescac's can only dream about when it comes to admissions. Even if they are weeding out the C Bands or those Protects/Ice's are now considered Reg Decision rejects. Gonna have to get creative or do the old school Amherst trick and keep telling the recruit how little there is to do in Williamstown over and over until it sticks like a fly to feces

Quote from: lumbercat on April 11, 2023, 10:56:26 PM
Coach Mills is a proven top notch Head Coach. For my money he's the best in the league.

The word around the Amherst Football program is the Administration at Amherst has changed their direction in terms of their support for Football and male helmet/contact sports in general. I have no first hand knowledge of this from 100 miles away but have heard this repeatedly from those connected over the last couple of years.

Mills is the best but if the stance on Athletics in the Amherst Administration and Faculty were to change as rumored he's going to have a tough time recruiting and winning. None of the great coaches in the conference can really compete for championships without a high level support from college Administration and Admissions.

Now who is spreading the poop around.
Amherst Men's Hockey had a great year last season and should have been the Nescac's sole NCAA representative but got knocked out by Williams and their super stud graduating Sr Goalie Evan Ruschil "Rusch" and Co in the Nescac Semi's. Their Lax team has been good as well so no idea how you can compare 'helmet sports' success or failures on admissions.