FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

From the Springfield paper....it was his non-throwing shoulder, it broke in four places, he had a plate, nine screws, and a wire put in to hold it all in place. 

[lancer98]

Vince,

No probelm.  I just got tired of typing and didn't feel like looking up who 'Gheny played.  I knew they played BW so that was good enough for me at that time.   

Wally,

I should have said that I reserve judgement on their team not there defense.  Yes there defense is terrible but it is good enough to win games when you have an offense like theirs.  I don't care if you give up 70.  If you can still win games like that more power to ya.

Remember as bad as that defense was last year their TEAM was good enough to beat your boys.

If Holmes can come back like Oldguy claims and play to level he is capable of, beware of the Tigers.

[gobash]

If he had the Witt team doctor(also the Cinncinnati Reds team doctor) do the surgery, he should be good to go soon.

Yeah, that guy's seen a lot of patients I'd bet.  Or at least Ken Griffey Jr. several hundred times

Crap...above joke already made my SAINTSfan a few posts later

[wally_wabash]

Yes, Witt beat Wabash last year...barely.  And it sure as hell wasn't thanks to anything their defense did. 

TEAMS, no matter how good their offense is, don't win a handful of games against good teams and they certainly don't win championships when they can't play defense.  How the hell does a team score 58 points in a game and lose?  That hammer surely doesn't fall on their offense.  They might outscore some teams, but sooner or later they are going to run into a team that can contain Murray and when that happens Witt is doomed. 

And before we get too far down the "But Witt Still Has a Great Offense" path, check the stats on Witt's offense...they aren't exactly lighting things up this season either. 

Why is it so hard for people to wrap their brains around the idea that Wittenberg might actually be just an average team? 

[Vince McMahon]

I can relate to what Witt is going through when I compare it to our team my senior year.  We opened with Mount and W&J and our defense got pretty much throttled in both games (48-20) and (54-41) respectively.  We also had major defensive problems against Wabash (54-45) although we won that one.  The point is, our defense really struggled that year, yet we came within two touchdowns (35-21 loss to Witt) of winning the NCAC that year because our offense was good.  The 92 points we gave up in the first two games probably had a lot of people wondering how many games we could win then as Witt's slow start has people wondering now.  Maybe Wally's right and Witt has slipped into mediocrity, but I agree that we shouldn't beat this drum too loud until we've had a chance to see them play in conference.  As someone else already stated, it's not like any other NCAC teams have won against strong non-conference opposition.   

[DarkSide-D]

Without defense, Witt can win.  They will NOT, however, win the games they need to win if they hope to win the AQ.

By loosing Holmes, I do not believe he will be returning, Witt will be one dimensional.  With only their running game last year, Witt was getting spanked by Woo.  It wasn't until Witt started passing the ball on Woo that they began to score the points they needed, and forced overtime.  The same technique used by Wabash to come storming back.  A team with a strong running d will shut down Wit

Perhaps Holmes will attempt to come back.  If he does, it will be big trouble for Witt.  I don't say this to sound like I condone purposely hurting another person, but defenses will be coming after Holmes.  Just like a boxer goes after the cut eye, or the cracked rib, defenses will be brining pressure on Holmes hard and often.  A couple good hits on him, and he will be thinking about everymove he makes on the field.  While I have never personnally broke my collar bone, I know ppl that have.  From what I hear, a collar bone is extremely painful.

[wally_wabash]

You're right.  When Witt throttles Denison in a couple of weeks, we can all breathe easy and excuse Witt's performance because they played reawy reawy hard teams. 

Come on people!  What we're seeing isn't a statistical anomaly. It's a trend and it dates back almost two years.  Since the start of of the 2003 season, Witt has given up 30 or more points 9 times.  9 times in 23 games, teams have scored more than 30 points against Witt.  Think about that.  Then think about the fact that of those 23 games, 7 of those games have been against Hiram, Denison, Earlham, and Huntingdon.  That means that out of 16 respectable opponents in over two seasons, 9 of them have lit Witt up for over 30 points.  Witt's record in those games is 3-6.  Can Witt win with the way they play defense currently?  Yes they can.  Occasionally.  Can they win enough to get the NCAC's AQ.  No way. 

[bashbrother]

Looks like Reality Check's Polar Bears aren't gettin off the ice this year.  Thats too bad.  I thought they may have a chance to challenge Mount for the AQ or at least be a real pool C contender.

[BashLaw]

I know this is a new topic, but am I correct in thinking that Wabash played on field turf in St. Louis this past weekend?

Anyone have any comments on the rise of field turf?  Pros?  Cons?  Cost?

Any of the Wittenberg guys have any comments about playing on turf for every home game?

[lancer98]

Vince,

I was going to post until I read yours.  You conveyed pretty much exactly what I wanted to say.

Wally,

What's funny about all those numbers you love to spew out is 2 of those 3 victories are against Wabash.  While their defense may not be able to beat other good teams or get the AQ, they have been good enough to beat you.  

[bashbrother]

Lancer -

I believe you need to check your Math.

Witt is 1 - 1 vs. Wabash "Since the start of of the 2003 season" 

They were embarrased 41 - 14 in 03' in Crawfordsville.

They won last year, but only because Wabash took the first half off.

33- 9 at halftime.... game ended 49-35

[wally_wabash]

lancer, first of all you're focusing on the wrong details and in your haste to turn this around on Wabash you are missing the point entirely.  Second, two of Witt's three wins against teams that score more than 30 points against them are not against Wabash, just the one from last season.  The other two are a 35-31 win over Wooster  on 11/15/03 (which, I believe, is where YOUR loyalties lie) and a 35-31 win over Thomas More on 9/18/04.  

Now, even if two of the three wins were against Wabash (which they weren't) or even if all three of them were against Wabash it doesn't diminish from my point that Witt can't win big games with the way they currently play defense.  Or at the very least, Witt can't expect to win enough big games to win the conference title.  That's the point, lancer.  

I don't have a problem if you want to call me out on "all those numbers that like to spew out" but if you're going to do it at least do your homework.  I've done mine.  

[gobash83]

I attended grad school at Wash U. after attending Wabash.  Even in the mid-80s, attendance at Wash U. games was light.  It seemed to me that it had a lot to do with the fact that a high percentage of the students are graduate students.  Also, in an urban setting, there are other distractions.  Finally, the students just didn't seem to care.  As a highlight, one of my classmates (who was a graduate student) wore the mascot costume since they couldn't find an undergrad to wear it.

[lancer98]

I did my homework.  Unfortunetly, I couldn't read the 41-14 score correctly.  I thought Witt had won that game.  Even the best of us can stick our foot in our mouths every once in a while.   

All I know is this is a new season and before we all throw Witt aside I want to see how they stack up against one of the better teams in this conference. Nobody to this point in the season has proved to me that they are far and away the best team.   

OK, I am done beating this horse.  I have wasted enough of my company's time today.

[DarkSide-D]

Wally,

A quick point on the '03 Witt-Woo game.  Wooster threw 4 interceptions inside their own 10 yard line.  One they returned for a td, one their o scored, one their field goal team scored, and one they got shut out of.  I am sorry, but had wooster played anyother team that day, while making such mistakes, Woo would have been destroyed.

What was the problem that year for Witt.  Was it their o for not puttin up enough points.  Or their d for not keep the scots outta the endzone.  Keep in mind that Witt intercepted the ball four times.