FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

I just want to be sure people can voice reasonable concerns, that's all. I think my biggest issue was the penalties and how the team looked in stretches. I do understand that Wally and LG weren't available to see the game (unless I am wrong), but we couldn't run well except when Belton did his thing. That's probably due to the injuries on the O-line more than anything, of course.

And 9-hour roadie or not, there were just stretches of mediocre football - somewhat the same thing we saw against Denison and Wash U but this was a longer lasting blah. But again, they rose up and overcame the obstacles, which is a testament of course to this team.

[BashBacker#16]

Hello....back to my question:  Will fincham kick to Chamblee?

Remember when DePauw had Sheppard (the All American WR/receiver)?  I think we kicked to him. 

[bashbrother]

[wally_wabash]

I just want to be sure people can voice reasonable concerns, that's all. I think my biggest issue was the penalties and how the team looked in stretches. I do understand that Wally and LG weren't available to see the game (unless I am wrong), but we couldn't run well except when Belton did his thing. That's probably due to the injuries on the O-line more than anything, of course.

And 9-hour roadie or not, there were just stretches of mediocre football - somewhat the same thing we saw against Denison and Wash U but this was a longer lasting blah. But again, they rose up and overcame the obstacles, which is a testament of course to this team.

Reasonable is the key phrase.  I'm all for reasonable. 

I've been watching Wabash football for a long time now...longer than some, not as long as others, but I think I've got enough games under my belt now to have a clue.  There aren't many games that I can recall where Wabash didn't go through a stretch of blah.  Monon Bell 2010.  Maybe vs. Witt 2003.  The playoff game vs. MacMurray in 2002.  I mean really, there aren't many games that go off without a hitch.  I think we've got to understand that these games aren't video games...sometimes a play is going to break down and things are going to be out of sync for a series here and there.  It doesn't make the team terrible, it doesn't make the coaches incompetent...it's part of the game.  Good teams find a way to overcome those hiccups. 

Now the margin for error decreases this week.  Maybe Wabash took a bad penalty last week and maybe Wabash struggled to run...but that was last week.  Wittenberg is good, but they aren't without their blemishes either.  It's going to be a tremendous, emotionally charged game this weekend.  These are the kinds of games that we are fortunate to be a part of.  There are a lot of other teams this weekend that don't get to play for a league title. 

Hello....back to my question:  Will fincham kick to Chamblee?

I think he will early on.  If Wes gets loose one time that'll be the end of that.  And I think even if he hasn't gotten loose, if the game is close after three quarters and Witt has a kickoff situation, I think they won't press their luck. 

[BashDad]

Also, can Bash slow McKee and Cooper?

They better do it with pressure. Those two are good. Witt's QB is consistently reduced to poseur status against defenses who can get to him. Find even the Oberlin highlight package from this season and look at how many of those passes are picks against a good team. You start hitting him, he starts throwing it up.

In contrast, our offense seems to be engineered in such a way to restrict on-the-fly playmaking. Belton usually has a single read and it's either toss it, tuck it, or throw it away. It's frustrating when he's not decisive, but he's not throwing pop-ups to center field or forcing balls into tight coverage (except for that BEAUTIFUL corner route to Horn on Saturday. So close.). 

I think this is actually one of the things we haven't spoken ENOUGH about this season: I think Hoeg is killing it. I may not be totally correct, but I really suspect that he's joy-sticking Belton around to some extent. Getting him in plays with little to no room for error. On saturday, he called several long-ball plays at perfect times against the right coverage and they were all home run balls if completed. I've been impressed all year. I betcha in these next two weeks, we start taking more notice of him and what he's doing.

With that said..... Can Wes touch the ball like he did Saturday, like, every week? Those bubble-screens are SO money and we dropped them for a huge chunk of the season. That seemed inexplicable. I was glad to see them being thrown again against Gheny. You watch that guy run and he's so clearly the best athlete on the field; I'd like to see the burden of being a freak this week tossed squarely to him. I've a feeling he'd come through.

[BashDad]

Remember when DePauw had Sheppard (the All American WR/receiver)?  I think we kicked to him.

Speaking of poseurs....

[smedindy]

Why talk about football when we're being meta about the board? Heh...

I think Gheny did what they did because they knew they didn't have the personnel on kick-offs to contain Chamblee. The problem was that of the 11 possessions in anger (the last one was victory), only twice did Wabash begin behind their own 30, both on punts. One of the punts was fair caught and one was out of bounds. You're giving Belton and company a very short field each time. With Wabash's struggles on offense, I think that worked against the Gators because the field position was always tilted against Allegheny and when they stopped Wabash they were in an offensive hole. But I think it was a risk that Matlak had to take because of the talent discrepancy.

Witt's got more talent than Allegheny. I think they'll risk it on a kickoff because if you are disciplined and stay in your lanes Chamblee is less likely to break one on a kickoff and giving Wabash a short field in this kind of game wouldn't be a smart play. As far as punting, though, it's going to depend on the field position but I think Witt tries to be very directional and strategic in punting. But I don't think they'll totally avoid him - especially if it means giving Wabash short fields every single time.

[smedindy]

Also, can Bash slow McKee and Cooper?

With that said..... Can Wes touch the ball like he did Saturday, like, every week? Those bubble-screens are SO money and we dropped them for a huge chunk of the season. That seemed inexplicable. I was glad to see them being thrown again against Gheny. You watch that guy run and he's so clearly the best athlete on the field; I'd like to see the burden of being a freak this week tossed squarely to him. I've a feeling he'd come through.

What I like about it is that now it's on film, and Witt will have to prepare for it. This could be a game to use decoys and have the 'next man up' come to the forefront. We've seen it happen before!

Kraus has really stepped up recently and I think he could definitely benefit from Witt paying attention to what Wes is doing and tight coverage on Horn.

[bashbrother]

Hello....back to my question:  Will fincham kick to Chamblee?.

I also believe they will early.   Depending on what happens and what the scoreboard looks like, this may change during the game.     

As far as the game as a whole,   I think the biggest key of the game is disrupting Zoeller,   if he has too much time to find McKee and Cooper, it could be a long day.  If we can mix up the schemes and get him out of rhythm,  it WILL be a tough day for this Witt offense.  (Huntingdon accomplished this.)

2nd key,  can we run the ball, against this Witt D......   (Huntingdon 321 yds -  CM 212 yds)   

Disclaimer:   I have played in or watched close to a thousand football games in my time,   I may not drink as much Kool-Aid as some, and sometimes "calls-them as I's sees them"....  But at the end of the day,  have Wabash in my heart.....  Don't mistake me wanting a team or individual players to achieve or play up to their potential, with being negative.   Opinions are Opinions........ part of what make these boards active and worth tuning in. 

[BashDad]

Kraus has really stepped up recently and I think he could definitely benefit from Witt paying attention to what Wes is doing and tight coverage on Horn.

Totally. I like Kraus.

I have a feeling, though, that if we're not on here Saturday night gushing about Chamblee, it'll mean we lost.

[Li'l Giant]

I do understand that Wally and LG weren't available to see the game (unless I am wrong),

I managed to catch the first half before I had to, you know, go to my wedding. The 4th Quarter updates I got courtesy of Wally and his iPhone.

I did make up for it by having a giant W as the Groom's Cake, though.



As far as the rest of this goes, I agree that opinions are opinions. But they're not always going to be agreed upon. We've all said our piece and it's time to concentrate on our community hatred of Tigers, the Ohio variety first.

I think smed and BashDad are both right. I think Witt will take some chances with Wes on kicks.

And I agree with this:

I have a feeling, though, that if we're not on here Saturday night gushing about Chamblee, it'll mean we lost.

By the way, does anyone know how (or if) this game is being webcast? At the end of the Denison game Emmick and Hoffman signed off that it was the last broadcast of the year. What's up with that? Am I going to have to party like it's 1999 and rely on a Real Player audio stream?

[smedindy]

My understanding is that they were signing off to the crew. I think I heard Joe say that another company will be doing the webcast Saturday.

[smedindy]

We say this every year, but where are the phalanx of Witt posters? They've got an elite program in football and men's BB and they're nowhere to be found here!

Even DPU is posting on this board with some regularity and they're not officially in the football conference yet.

Yeesh, it's the game of the year and no Witt poster is chiming in.

[wally_wabash]

Perusing the stats and I think we're in for a thriller this weekend.  Wittenberg has an edge statistically on offense.  They throw the ball more and with a little more efficiency than Wabash does.  Wabash runs the ball more effectively than Wittenberg has.  All of that is appropos of nothing...it's just each team playing to their strengths.  Despite the yardage advantage Witt enjoys on offense, Wabash has actually scored more touchdowns than Wittenberg this season. 

The advantage defensively goes to Wabash.  Wabash is tops in the league in scoring defense, rushing defense, and total defense.  This group has been strong all year, but we shouldn't ignore the fact that the defense hasn't been quite as dominant with Houston Hodges out of the lineup.  It seems strange, but that one guy out there on the corner makes a huge difference.  Maybe he plays Saturday, maybe he doesn't...we'll have to wait and see.  The Tiger defense has been a little more forgiving this year than they have been in the last couple.  They do have good players there and they have good coaches and with the extra week to study, I have no doubt this will be the best game that defense plays all year.  Adjustments and throwing in a couple of wrinkles will be important for the LGs. 

Special teams is a mixed bag.  Wittenberg actually has a higher average kickoff return than Wabash, but I think that number has been skewed by the number of squibs Wabash has seen in the last few weeks.  Teams just aren't allowing Wabash to return kicks.  Wabash holds a significant advantage on punt returns.  What Witt can do when they have to punt will be an interesting thing to watch.  I'll give the placekicking advantage to Wittenberg.  Williams has been perfect on 11 attempts this season.  Strong. 

Here are some things that stood out to me as I went through stats tables...Cooper and McKee both average around 18 yards per catch.  Witt's got a very "American League" offense...they need the three run homer to thrive.  This is the biggest key, I believe, for Wabash.  Don't let those guys get loose behind the defense.  The pressure is on the front four to get, well, pressure.  McKooper can't get deep if Zoeller doesn't have time to let them.  Also, Chase Belton leads the league in points responsible for.  By a ways.  Time for #13 to shine. 

[wallyworld12]

My understanding is that they were signing off to the crew. I think I heard Joe say that another company will be doing the webcast Saturday.

This weekend's game against Witt will be broadcast by WabashTelevision! Wabash is taking all TV production in-house next season and this is their tune-up game to provide high quality broadcasts.