FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ExTartanPlayer]

*I hope I didn't offend anyone with this post.  .

Better put this in your signature line, that way it's there permanently.

[firstdown]

Bashbacker 16

I remember that game quite well.  I suspect that the quarterback still has nightmares about that day (and no doubt has the number 54 still emblazened on his chest).

Go LG's!

[wally_wabash]

Blair was a monster in that game.  Full on monster. 

This is what Blair Hammer did on November 30, 2002 vs. Wittenberg:

10 tackles (7 solo)
4.5 TFL (-20 yards)
3.0 sacks (-16 yards)
2 hurries
2 forced fumbles
1 fumble recovery
1 interception returned 30 yards for a TD

That's a full day right there. 

It gets better.  In the 4th quarter of a 13-7 ballgame, Wittenberg was forced to change quarterbacks (I think Greg Cornett got beat up and finally had to exit the game).  Enter Kurt Forrest.  On Forrest's first snap of the game, he gets sacked by Blair, he fumbles, Wabash recovers at the Witt 9.  Two plays later, Wabash scores.  19-7.  On Witt's next offensive snap right after the kickoff, Forrest gets picked off by Blair Hammer...Blair goes 30 yards for the score.  25-7.  Ballgame. 

[sigma one]

I appreciate your comment, gentlemen.  What I put up was a series of Wabash "trivia" questions.  In my mind (doesn't have to be in yours'), those questions would have been interesting to Wabash posters only--ok maybe a few others would have enjoyed seeing what the questions were.  Anyway, even when we are discussing Allegheny, for example, we are not cutting off interest by others.  And then multiple posters trying out answers would just clutter the space. 
     Flawed reasoning; you decide.  Maybe we will set something up on the General Discussion Board.  B#16.  Just when you think you have me figured out; in your dreams!  See you tomorrow.

[AlleghenyAlum]

I appreciate your comment, gentlemen.  What I put up was a series of Wabash "trivia" questions.  In my mind (doesn't have to be in yours'), those questions would have been interesting to Wabash posters only--ok maybe a few others would have enjoyed seeing what the questions were.  Anyway, even when we are discussing Allegheny, for example, we are not cutting off interest by others.  And then multiple posters trying out answers would just clutter the space. 
     Flawed reasoning; you decide.  Maybe we will set something up on the General Discussion Board.  B#16.  Just when you think you have me figured out; in your dreams!  See you tomorrow.

I'm so confused, I feel like someone else is editing your posts.  Let the posts roll, if it's NCAC football related we want to see it.

[BashDad]

It's Friday. Week 6. The time of year where getting excited for league games usually means getting excited for something other than just who's playing who.

So.

With half a season gone and three weeks remaining until what could possibly be the most anticipated conference championship game in recent NCAC memory, it seems like a fun time to untangle the various strands of story that have begun to rocket Wittenberg and Wabash towards one another. Again. Five weeks in, we are all three weeks away from the kind of Saturday that happens once a decade. That makes me giddy. With fingers firmly crossed that Wabash doesn't go all 2012 in 2013, or that Witt doesn't lose to Ohio Wesleyan (more on that in a bit), here's what to pay attention to in these next three weeks.

THE STRENGTHS -- WITTENBERG'S OFFENSE VERSUS WABASH'S EVERYTHING ELSE

WHATTUP, MIKE GREGORY

Reed Florence is the best offensive player in the league. It's not close. It's not subtle. To my eye, he may be the most skilled offensive player we've seen since Sutton. He's that good. He can make all the throws (just last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKbM2_jnWdc ) and is dangerous enough with his feet to give a defense pause. After his breakout You-Picked-Who-As-OPOY? game against Heidelberg in the first round of last year's playoffs (Remember that? 402 yards of total offense, 5 TDs), he's picked up right where he left off. He's completing 70 percent of his passes, has been responsible for 18 TDs, and is crushing his previous mark in efficiency (182 vs. 155). But what's most impressive is how that offense looks right now. When they're not killing themselves with penalties (see below) or turning the ball over, they're gobbling up yards like it's practice. You can count on one hand the scoring drives that needed more than 9 plays. And Florence should get a lot of the credit. For all the talk that Wabash's Defense has provoked, there's a feeling here--be it for the Butler game or just the under-representation on the boards--that Witt's offense isn't getting the kudos they deserve. I don't think we can consider this Witt offense as, like, the best they've ever had, but Florence? Yeah, I'm sayin' it.


A BLANKET AND A HAMMER

There are five categories that make championship teams. They are: Defense, Special Teams, Turnovers, Line play, and Offensive Standout X. Wabash can check four of those boxes. This Little Giant team, after five weeks, can lay claim to an unprecedented amalgam of top tier departments-- they are top 5 nationally in a host of major defensive and special teams categories. It's not just that they have a great ball-hawking defense, or that their punter is killing it, or that they've scored nine non-offensive touchdowns, or even--look at that--they're quietly the second best kickoff return team in the country. No, it's none of these things individually. It's these things together. All these things together mean field position. Field position means points. With an offense that is entirely suspect, Wabash is scoring 54 points a game. If that holds, it will be the most points ever scored by a Wabash team. That's crazy.

Wabash has had the ball 79 times in the first 5 weeks. Wanna take a guess what the average starting field position is for the Little Giants? Go ahead. Guess.

It's the 48 yards line.

They've started with the ball in the other team's territory twenty seven times. Twenty Seven. Your mediocre offense is going to be pretty good when they're playing on a field half the length of the opposing team's. Wabash on the year has scored 35 touchdowns and 22 of those have come on drives that were less than 50 yards. Significant.


THE WEAKNESSES -- WABASH'S OFFENSE VERSUS WITTENBERG'S EVERYTHING ELSE

THE PUTKO PROBLEM

As others have noted, and I will avoid elaborating here, the offensive identity of Wabash has shifted post-Hudson. Quarterbacks are mechanical pieces in a larger machine that has its focus elsewhere: run the ball and don't turn it over. You give the keys of the ride over to the quarterback maybe eight or ten times a game, as opposed to, say, twenty. And while Putko is probably being unfairly compared to the team's strengths elsewhere, to say nothing of him just being a sophomore, it's hard to ignore the lack of production and the general "bluh" of his play when the team has called his number. It seems clear to me that he was tabbed the starter on the strength of his legs and not his arm, but through 5 games, Putko has rushed for 86 yards and is averaging two yards a carry (Wabash has had four running backs average over 5.5). I just can't imagine that ER envisioned this kind of play from under center and now they're in a tough spot. It's too late to start trying out different QBs and unless he wants to just switch to Walsh, which seems unlikely at this point, they're gonna be stuck with a quarterback they can't really trust when they find themselves in a game where they need points from the part of the team ostensibly designated to score them.


RAISE THE RED FLAGS

Back to those five championship categories. Remember those? They're above. Wabash can check four. Do you know how many boxes Witt can check? One. Florence. Offensive Standout X. Check. That's it. Nearly every other category, when investigated, yields.... "uh-oh"

We started the year questioning whether or not Witt would be improved defensively from a year ago and nothing we've seen so far can be taken as evidence that they have. It's not that they're bad--they can boast two shutouts and a comparable-to-Wabash Denison game--but they're decidedly not good at forcing turnovers (Wittenberg is 8th in the league in turnover margin at -4 which is better than, wait for it, Oberlin and Allegheny), they're at the bottom of the league in opponent first downs and third down conversions, and they're special teams have given up a score and a handful of big returns against suspect competition in the last couple weeks.

The turnover thing is big. Witt's offense is really good, but if they're turning the ball over against the Hirams of the world (two fumbles and a pick), that's not a good sign for when competition gets stiffer. Which it's about to. It's also worth noting that Witt has had over 100 yards of penalties in each of the last two weeks. Last week, their penalties single handedly kept Denison in the game in the first half. It was gross. Wittenberg may have a great offense, but they're doing everything they can to mitigate that offense's power in determining ball-games. They turn the ball over, they do dumb stuff to stall drives, their defense provokes suspicion, and their special teams, so far, are luke warm.

Uh-Oh.


WHAT TO WATCH FOR

1. If you only track one question in the following weeks, it should be this: Can Reed Florence keep Wabash from playing on a short field? That's the sentence. Everything above is in that sentence.

But. More specifically. Here are some things to be aware of:

2. Wooster and OWU could really scare Wittenberg. OWU/Witt, particularly, could become a monster shoot-out that may catch the Tigers--and us--off guard. The way to beat OWU is to sack Espo and disrupt the system, corral it into swing passes. But Wittenberg only has 13 sacks on the year and over half of them were against Hiram. My gut says OWU will have a shot and I'm guessing tomorrow might see Wooster putting up a real fight for a while, too.

3. But here's the thing. Florence is going to have a game this year that seems totally out of this world. 500 yards and 6 TD kind of game. That's happening. But when?

4. Wabash may start chucking the ball. I don't see why not. They have to get Putko some plays to reference when he's staring down 3rd and 12 against Wittenberg on a must-score drive. Plus they're a play away from total annihilation at running back. I bet we get all excited about Putko in the next couple weeks and then he pisses us all off on the first drive of the Witt game. That's my guess.

5. Someone new is going to burst onto the Wabash scene.That's not really informed by anything other than the feeling of this first half-season which has somehow managed to exceed expectations while producing radical surprises.

Here's to the next three weeks.

Boom. Happy Friday. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

I appreciate your comment, gentlemen.  What I put up was a series of Wabash "trivia" questions.  In my mind (doesn't have to be in yours'), those questions would have been interesting to Wabash posters only--ok maybe a few others would have enjoyed seeing what the questions were.  Anyway, even when we are discussing Allegheny, for example, we are not cutting off interest by others.  And then multiple posters trying out answers would just clutter the space. 
     Flawed reasoning; you decide.  Maybe we will set something up on the General Discussion Board.  B#16.  Just when you think you have me figured out; in your dreams!  See you tomorrow.

I'm so confused, I feel like someone else is editing your posts.  Let the posts roll, if it's NCAC football related we want to see it.

AlleghenyAlum, you're on a legendary karma roll to get started.  Nothing but good, friendly stuff comes from your keyboard.

[bashbrother]

BashDad -

That took work.....  Great stuff.....

Was the: "I bet we get all excited about Putko in the next couple weeks and then he pisses us all off on the first drive of the Witt game. That's my guess." quote -  a way of relating to your first pass in the first drive of your first Bell Game?   

[Bishopleftiesdad]

BashDad +1 Love your analysis.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Was the: "I bet we get all excited about Putko in the next couple weeks and then he pisses us all off on the first drive of the Witt game. That's my guess." quote -  a way of relating to your first pass in the first drive of your first Bell Game?   

Well DONE!!!!

[firstdown]

Wally

Thanks for the stats for Blair Hammer in the 2002 playoff game.  He was a fire breathing monster that day.  Blair was very impressed by the performance of Cody Buresh and the entire Wabash defense last Saturday and wishes them well the rest of the way.  Blair also had an opportunity to speak with Mason Zurek after the game to wish him a speedy recovery.  Blair played his junior and senior years on a bad ankle.  Although Blair didn't quite have the same injury as Mason, he could truly say that he understood what he was going through.

BashDad - the only game that matters is this Saturday. 

[wally_wabash]

BashDad -

That took work.....  Great stuff.....

Was the: "I bet we get all excited about Putko in the next couple weeks and then he pisses us all off on the first drive of the Witt game. That's my guess." quote -  a way of relating to your first pass in the first drive of your first Bell Game?   

It was 10 years ago, but that game is strangely fitting to what Wabash is doing presently...powerful run game (Morris and Lafitte both over 100 yards) paired with a modest, yet efficient passing game (15-19-1 197 yards, 1 TD). 

Despite a misty rainy kind of day as I recall, lots of good stuff happened...Morris breaks the career rushing record, Blair ties BJ's career sack record (I believe it was a sack/fumble because Blair), Lafitte becomes the first freshman to rush for 1000 yards, and Wabash took back the series lead 51-50-9...which they haven't given back since.  Good day all around.  I might have to toss that disc in tonight just for fun. 

[BashBacker#16]

BashDad,

Killer post!  Interesting remarks on Florence.  I'm not sure I agree to that extent.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Little Giants tomorrow.

WAF
BB16

[Dr. Acula]

A Friday afternoon gift from BashDad!  Thanks for the analysis. +K

[BashBacker#16]

I still say Lafitte would have rushed for 2,000 yards his Sophomore season.  He was THAT good!  5A Player of the Year in Arizona with just sick #'s!  Trivia:  What Wabash player tackled Lafitte during the RED & White scrimmage injuring him?  He was never the same at Wabash.  Anyone?