FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wabashcpa]

As far as targeting this past weekend, the kid from Indiana State definitely earned his disqualification.  That was a textbook case - shot to the head, defenseless receiver, etc.

[ADL70]

Oberlin joins the trend of gray uniforms, when gray isn't one of their colors:

http://www.goyeo.com/roster.aspx?path=football&;

[bashbrother]

Oberlin joins the trend of gray uniforms, when gray isn't one of their colors:

http://www.goyeo.com/roster.aspx?path=football&

Tough to look at the number of players in that photo....   All the Best to Oberlin in making it through this low valley....  mad props to the team that beat Wabash last year.....   at some point though...... numbers have to grow.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Flip this around. Some kid gets tagged on the head because the defender wasn't practicing proper technique. Concussion symptoms so the kid is out for the rest of the game and, if the team and its med staff are smart, most likely out the next game. Dizzy so he misses class, maybe ends up with some make up work, maybe ends up with a down semester. Headaches so they keep him from practice... hey, 2 or 3 weeks just went by and the kid has been sitting out. I absolutely loathe the idea of a player losing multiple games over a questionable hit. I really loathe when it gets in the way of his education, the real reason he is in school.

Concussions are no joke and football is going to have to deal with this going forward. It's going to take some of the violence out of the game and maybe that makes it a bit less entertaining. But as evidence mounts and insurance gets more expensive for these programs, we're all going to be wishing we were more proactive in sorting the issue ahead of time.

Look, I agree with you that concussions are no joke and that "football is going to have to deal with this" going forward.  To be honest, I suspect that sometime within my lifetime, the game will no longer be viewed as America's primary sports interest.  It's hard to imagine the game being eliminated altogether, but I can see it becoming a sport that some high schools can no longer afford, and once a sport dries up at the high school level, the collegiate game will suffer and the professional game will become less popular.  If that sounds a bit overly dramatic to anyone, think about how different the sports landscape looks today than it did 30 years ago - what's the rule saying it has to stay the same as it is now?
 
Head-to-head hits and concussions will still happen in the game as currently constructed, and it is my opinion - just that, an opinion, no more - that the targeting rule will do very little to change that.  I'm a big fan of the rule stating a player must leave the field for a play any time that his helmet comes off, hopefully that will encourage players to start wearing helmets that fit and actually buckle their @#$% chin strap like they're supposed to.

[jknezek]

I don't think football is going to go away. Heck, we still have boxing and the point of that sport is to give someone a concussion. Arguably mixed martial arts is more popular than boxing, and growing in popularity. So there is a call for violent sports in the landscape. The problem with football is that it is ubiquitous among youth players, and the equipment is supposed to make it "safer". What we're finding is that either the equipment isn't as good as we thought, or the game itself needs to be changed to be safer to keep it ubiquitous.

Personally, I think football is just going to have to change tackling rules. I think at some point you are going to see a "tackling and blocking zone" on players. You'll be able to hit from the thighs to the chest, front of the player only. You can wrap up a player from behind when tackling, but you can't then take them to the ground and the play stops with the wrap up. Blind side hits, especially on the qb, are going to go away. The other major change I see coming is a "rugby rule". You have to wrap up to tackle and you can't leave your feet to initiate the tackle. If you don't try and wrap up, or leave your feet, it's a 15 yard penalty. No just throwing your body at someone, especially a receiver who has gone up for a ball or a running back and his knees, or an offensive lineman throwing himself low to make a block. And of course, the leading with the head is already on the outs, both offense and defense. You're going to see guys running more upright, and tackles more like wrestling takedowns.

I think all of this will happen over the next 10-20 years. Football has always changed. The rules have always moved on. There is no "historically correct" way to play football, and more often than not the changes have been made to try and improve safety. I think the coming changes to the rules will continue that evolution. There is no doubt that people will scream and yell about their favorite blood sport losing some blood, as they do now every time the rules change, but the world, and football, continues to try and move to a kinder, gentler future. It's really not a bad thing.

[wally_wabash]

I think at some point you are going to see a "tackling and blocking zone" on players. You'll be able to hit from the thighs to the chest, front of the player only.

I hope not.  How do you legislate this?  You trust your high school or small college game officials to determine on the fly if contact was made in the no-fly zone or not?  Where the technology exists, do we stop the game and check the replay at every borderline tackle to see if we need to mete out some justice?  And how do you account for the instance where a player aims for the giant bullseye that you've put on a ball carrier's torso, but the ball carrier moves at the last split second or turns his side or back to the oncoming defense?

You can wrap up a player from behind when tackling, but you can't then take them to the ground and the play stops with the wrap up.

So...touch football.

The other major change I see coming is a "rugby rule". You have to wrap up to tackle and you can't leave your feet to initiate the tackle. If you don't try and wrap up, or leave your feet, it's a 15 yard penalty. No just throwing your body at someone...

Now this...this is something.  I think keeping players on their feet helps to eliminate a lot of the unintentional above the shoulders contact that I'm concerned players will get disqualified for this year.  On the ground, you can adjust right up to that last split second.  After launching though, you're committed to whatever point in space you jumped to...which might not be occupied by the same part of a body that you thought when you jumped.  Keeping players from launching I think is a good safety measure. 

There is no doubt that people will scream and yell about their favorite blood sport losing some blood...

My favorite bloodsport still involves underground martial arts tournaments in Hong Kong....based on a true story. 

[BashDad]

Hey, guys. Hey. Guys. How come we're not talking about Franklin/UMU?

[wally_wabash]

Hey, guys. Hey. Guys. How come we're not talking about Franklin/UMU?

Waiting on you?

I'll start.  I'm getting the sense this year that I think you had last year about this game.  Never mind that Mount Union has like two returning starters.  Mount Union has the athletes...this much we know.  They will be fast.  They will be big.  They will be skilled.  That's Mount Union.  What's different, and this is the thing that I think changes the game, is the coaching change.  Vince Kehres has the name, the continuity is there and all of that.  Undeniable.  But what's different is that Vince Kehres doesn't have a 0.929 win percentage.  I think coaches going to play Mount Union are going to have a different mindset than they did before.  Before, you probably knew that you weren't going to outcoach Mount Union...everything had to be perfect to win.  But now, maybe you can outscheme Vince Kehres.  I don't know.  Maybe Vince Kehres is every bit the master that Larry Kehres is.  But I doubt it.  I think that totally changes the game.  Mount Union is still going to have the players.  They can replace the players.  But you can't replace 332-24-3.  That part of the equation doesn't get reloaded. 

[DPU3619]

Let's not forget that Franklin's got some dudes, too.  I think they have a great chance to win this thing. I love Franklin's offense.  Mike Leonard is legit, y'all. As long as something really terrible doesn't happen right out of the gate, I think they'll be in the thing.

[firstdown]

Wally - I am reminded of the sign at the football field at UMU - "Welcome to the Machine."  While it remains to be seen if Coach Kehres can continue at the level of excellence that his dad set year in and year out, the new Coach Kehres has been a key part of the "Machine" and I expect the gears to be well oiled on Saturday.  I think that the score will be  closer than last year, but UMU comes out on top.  UMU likes to go for the early knock out punch.  If Franklin can absorb those punches, Saturday will be interesting.

Coach Leonard and Franklin are to be congradulated for playing Mount Union and Butler.  Given the overall strength (or lack thereof) of the HCAC, Franklin uses the games to prepare themselves for both conference play and for the playoffs.  As has been said, anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Coach Leonard is using these games to continue to improve his program.

[wally_wabash]

Wally - I am reminded of the sign at the football field at UMU - "Welcome to the Machine."  While it remains to be seen if Coach Kehres can continue at the level of excellence that his dad set year in and year out, the new Coach Kehres has been a key part of the "Machine" and I expect the gears to be well oiled on Saturday.  I think that the score will be  closer than last year, but UMU comes out on top.  UMU likes to go for the early knock out punch.  If Franklin can absorb those punches, Saturday will be interesting.

We'll see.  I have no doubt that Mount Union will be excellent.  For the last 20-ish years, Mount Union has had the best players in the North region and the best coach.  That's a really, really hard combination to beat and very few have.  But now...now, while Mount Union probably still has the best players in the region overall, they may not have the best HC anymore.  That's the thing that we'll get to see as these next few months play out. 

Coach Leonard and Franklin are to be congradulated for playing Mount Union and Butler.  Given the overall strength (or lack thereof) of the HCAC, Franklin uses the games to prepare themselves for both conference play and for the playoffs.  As has been said, anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Coach Leonard is using these games to continue to improve his program.

Maybe.  It's a double edged sword...Franklin plays these games and we all applaud their stones and then we watch them take the business end of a 60-burger in Texas.  Or a first round roadie to Whitewater.  Or, heaven forbid the Grizzlies faceplant one Saturday during league play, out of the playoffs all together.  Lot of risk/reward there and I think we could probably have pages of debate about whether or not these games are actually making Franklin better.  Saturday will be a pretty good barometer. 

[BashDad]

Definitely making Franklin better. Definitely.

[firstdown]

The keys to playing Mount Union are minimizing or eliminating mistakes, and defense.  Both UMHB and Wesley have played UMU with offensive powerhouse teams and have come away unsuccessfully.  UWW has played them successfully with teams with good balance on both sides of the ball, but particularly with strong defense.  One of the best games that Wabash has ever played was the 2011 playoff game with UMU.  Wabash played with a rock solid defense, and lost due to a couple of errors, but otherwise was very close that day in Alliance.  Coach Raeburn had the Little Giants ready that day and they brought their A game.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Re: the tackling discussion, I basically echo wally's thoughts above.  I think a "tackling/blocking zone" is going to be impossible, but I can see the rugby rule for tackling brought in.  I think even that is more reasonable to enforce, and I can stomach the 15-yard flag more easily than players ejected for hits that were geniunely made with clean intentions.

Re: Franklin vs. UMU, I'm in favor of 'power' teams from weak conferences stepping up to play Top-5 teams.  It's a legitimate debate about whether it makes them better or not (WashU has played UMU in the mid-00's and UWW last year & this year and it doesn't appear to have moved the needle on their program - they're about the same as before), but someone has to play the big boys in non-conference games, and it certainly isn't going to be one of the dregs of those same conferences.

It's fair to question whether they are helped - perhaps some recruits are scared of playing the Purple Powers and don't go to Franklin, or maybe they take a beating on the chin and lose a few guys to injuries - but I do see the merit in playing a powerhouse team in an effort to reach the next level, or at least show your team what that next level looks like.  I'm of the mindset that except for a select few, teams that don't win their conference are unlikely to go more than a round deep in the playoffs, so if I'm coaching an HCAC team (or an NCAC team, for that matter), I kinda figure that if we have serious playoff aspirations, we'd better be good enough to win the conference.

*Now, I know you're not suggesting that they schedule "easy" to backdoor their way in - but you might make the point, fairly, that they'd be better-served playing a strong-mid-level team from the CCIW/WIAC/OAC/MIAC.  I think that's a fair statement.

[smedindy]

Oberlin joins the trend of gray uniforms, when gray isn't one of their colors:

http://www.goyeo.com/roster.aspx?path=football&

I just threw up in my mouth a little. Ghastly.