FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[WallyFS4]

Huff has incredible ability.  The question with him will be his ability to read defenses and make the correct situational calls at the line.  With his receiving corp, a little patience will pay off in downfield completions.  Quartebacks with the ability to run, sometimes tuck it and run a bit too much.  I am sure CC will keep this in check.

Will the offense gel with the new leadership?
Will the running game develop and be productive?

I think these are some of the main questions heading into the season.

My thoughts exactly.

BB16

I think anyone in the country would be hard pressed to put a better receiving corp together.  Coach seems to put great receivers together.  I hope the passing game developes in what the potential is.

Adi is the real deal.  He is the best LB I have seen in the last 6 years.  You know better than I, but I think Adi is the best LB to go through Wabash.  We will see this year how good he is.  He had a great LB corp around him his 1st 2 years.

I agree with Bashbrother.  The leadership at QB will be the key this year.  I hope Huff can step-up the way Russ did last year.  It will depend if he is willing to put in the time and work that Russ did.

I think the NCAC is wide open.  I'm not sure if there is any front runner as of yet.  Bash and Witt are always going to be in the hunt.  I think this year is more open than it has been in the last past years.  Should be fun seeing how this year comes together.  With that being said, I still think Bash will win the NCAC(imagine that) .  As always.


WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS![/size][/font]

[ski]

WOO 04  - Great senior class capped off by Sutton.  This resulted in a great season for the Scots.  Got to believe that they would have had a match-up with Mount had they put the ball in Sutton's hands the last few series of their last game?

WOO 05  - Injuries were a factor from game #1 right through the end of the season.  Small senior class forced leadership roll on juniors who could not begin to approach the leadership displayed by senior class of 04.  Some players did not live up to expectations of them from their play in 04.  This was evident on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.  Poor tackling was a problem right through to the d-backs.  The wide-outs were never able to get near to the go-to ability of the receivers from 04.

WOO 06  - The talent is there to have a successful season.  The big questions are; can the Scots start healthy and stay healthy, can the seniors provide the needed leadership, will the D and O strategy match up with the talent, will the blocking and tackling improve to the levels needed and will the wide-outs be successful in a go-to roll.  One can sum it up by saying; are the Scots ready and willing to play hard, no frills football for 10 games.  If they are, oh well; things will get interesting. 

[BashBacker#16]

Ski -

Nice post, good comments.  I would agree with your WR remarks - since McNally left, there doesn't seem to be much there as for a go-to receiver.  I still remember the clinic that McNally and Wabash's Brandon Clifton put on in the '04 match up.

Regarding injuries:  I am convinced that luck plays a huge role.  Bash camp is very physical as well and continues that way all year long.  The Little Giants depth (Creighton's 6th season) is probably the most noticeable difference from years past - it  has improved each year.  Even knowing that, there are certain players you need to keep healthy any way you look at it.  I'd think Huff, Russell, Millikan, Certain, RBs, and Pynenberg are the most obvious ones.  Even if that happens, others can step up.  I wonder how crushing an injury would be to a Witt with Murray or a Wooster with Shafer - those 2 would be MAJOR blows to their '06 seasons.  I hope the NCAC can remain healthy.

Past season's (CC era) Bash injuries that made impacts:  Bopp 6'5 290 (pre-season all american OT) in '02 ACL during camp, DT Mercer's back '02 (opposite of Blair Hammer), FS Lonnie Heck's ankle during camp '02, OT Virgne's back '03 before camp, OLB Selby (broken foot/ankle prior to Wooster game '04), Lafitte's injury during red & white (on his last carry) scrimmage in '03 (this was HUGE!), OLB Connor Kuba '02 - ankle, OLB Foster prior to Witt & Mount Union playoff games, etc.  I am sure there are more but those come to mind.  I am sure most programs get hit ever year, its just a matter of depth, luck, and keeping your leaders on the field.  Just my opinion...

[ski]

BB / Injuries are part of the game and every team wil have them.  Some teams have the luxury of solid depth that can take the sting out of some of those injuries.  Woo got solid bench help in 04, but what the depth level will be this year depends on how fast some of the more talented freshman catch on.

[seinfeld]

Hopefully one of Wooster's young players that develops quickly is a quarterback. Not to rip on Bobby Reiff too bad, but he was awful the last three games of the year. He didn't play bad against Kenyon, but a couple of costly turnovers (an interception in Kenyon territory in the 4th quarter) and a botched shotgun snap (mostly the center's fault) in Wooster territory led to Kenyon's win. He has a good arm, just seems to make questionable decisions.

Hopefully Wooster runs the spread offense less so that Schafer is not getting banged around all season and can stay on the field.

[kcreds]

This is for anyone who wants to see how a new field is put in. Of course it is a nice addition to an already great facility. Can't wait for the finished product, including the product that OWU will put on that field.

http://bishops.owu.edu/selby/index.html

[wally_wabash]

What is so terrible about a spread offense? Do all spread offenses lend themselves to quarterback killing?  There are a lot of reasons a quarterback gets hit that have little or nothing to do with the scheme...bad protection, receivers unable to get open, lack of a running game, etc. etc. 

Schafer was the only serious weapon Wooster had on offense last year.  It's going to be the same way again this year...he's going to get spied and he's going to get hit and unfortunately for Wooster, they have no choice but to take that risk because taking the ball out of their best player's hands would be unwise.  What good does a healthy qb do if you're not going to use him? 

[seinfeld]

Wally,

How many Wooster games did you watch last year? I saw all but two of them, and I can tell you, it wasn't a good fit for Schafer or the offensive personal.

I'm not going to bog down the board with the specific reasons why it isn't a good fit for Wooster. If any other Wooster observer feels the spread is a good scheme for Wooster and Schafer, I would love to hear from the reasons. I don't think there were many fans of this system in Scot land.

[scotty]

seinfeld, 2 up on you as i saw 10  agreed, it didn't seem a fit...8 yard drags, 18 yard long drags, not the most unpredictable offense...that said, maybe we can find a couple of "stretch" receivers in the group of 110...

wally, "only serious weapon"...Tinsley looked great early on, Shepherd came on strong...

Wooster needs to "utilize" the talent they have like Wabash has in the past by switching a defensive or offensive player and get the best athletes on the field...a player with 36 touches and 10 tds never saw the field on offense...hmmmm...

[seinfeld]

In some ways, it was interesting to watch Schmitz, who at heart is an old-fashioned run the ball 70 percent of the time (not that Sutton wouldn't have been a great fit for anyone, but giving a running back the ball over 30 times a game I think was Schmitz's dream). But I think that may have also been a little bit of a problem. It not only didn't fit the type of talent Wooster had, but it didn't fit the typical philosophy of the head coach.

There does seem to be a fairly good crop of athletes this year. Hopefully they will find their way onto the field. That may mean setting some veterans down in place of younger players.

[ski]

Last years use of the spread at Woo was a poor fit.  Every scheme is best used if there is the talent to make it work.  The spread requires quick seperation by the receivers and the supporting cast or the QB is an easy target.  Last year Woo did not have the talent to run the spread consistantly. This year is a ? mark, one thing for sure shafer can't spend another year getting beat up. 

[wally_wabash]

Tinsley??  Shepherd??  Are you kidding with this?  Tinsley played a couple of very good games, then dropped off the face of the planet.  Shepherd had one monster game vs. defensive powerhouse Hiram, decent games vs. Kenyon and Oberlin, and was a total non-factor vs. Wabash, Witt, and OWU.  Not exactly the second coming of #7.  I said at the beginning of last season that Wooster's season would go pretty much as that of Justin Schafer went.  That proved pretty much true.  I think you'll see the same thing this season...if Schafer gets hurt or struggles, Wooster is in big trouble.  There just aren't any real scary options other than Schafer.  They are good players, yes, but not anybody that is going to take the focus away from Schafer.  

[scotty]

wally, since Sutton left we might as well just close up shop...Wooster's defense must show up this year, shorten the field and let the offense evolve...maybe some ugly wins but a win is win is a win...

[wally_wabash]

So you're denying that Wooster's running game was average at best last year?  I implore you to take a peak at last year's conference stats and tell me otherwise. 

Of course Wooster shouldn't close up shop.  But I don't think you can fault Coach Schmitz for trying something new...he clearly understood that he didn't have the same type of personnel he had in '04 and tried to find an offense that played more to the team's strength (Schafer).  Unfortunately, it didn't work out.  How Schmitz adjusts to what he has coming back this year will go a long way in determining Wooster's success.  But they're still a team that is only going to go as far as Schafer takes them...unless Ty Sutton transfers in.  Then the pressure is off again. 

[DarkSide-D]

Wally, Woos running game was bad last year.  But you can't just look at the stats.  You have to look behind the scenes.  Woo just lost a three year starter.  A starter who just happened to be the best in the country during that time.  When you take a group of guys who have not played before on that level and compare them to Sutton, of course they won't look good.  Also, when an offense is in place that limits the number of runs for those guys, it will hurt their stats. 

In regards to Tinsley, he was a great athlete.  Not only did I see him play, I played with him.  Its a shame he is no longer with the team.  But just like he was a great talent, he was a cancer.  He had a bad attitude that catches on real quick on a team.  While woo misses his abilities, no team needs someone with an attitude that leads them to quits because they are not getting the ball!!

Wally, I agree with you on Schmitz' approach with the offensive scheme.  I think all programs have to make changes, otherwise they stagnate and die.  The talent changes, and good coaching staffs catch on to same old schemes.

Lets Go Scots...Tick Tock