FB: American Rivers Conference

[New Storm]

  St Cloud will announce new coach at 4:15 Today

[Klompen]

I haven't been around for awhile, but it seems like a good time to chime in.  If for no other reason, I have to step up for the Dutch.  My picks for the season:

1 - Central:  They did graduate some incredible talent and have key holes to fill, but from everything I have seen and heard, I think they will do it and will remain in first place.  The question here is playing Wartburg so early.  I think Wartburg either comes in a just a touch over confident because they play us before we have had much time to work out the kinks or feels too much pressure to win.  Either way, I see Central with what some would call an early upset.

2 - Wartburg, but they may end up with 2 losses again.  Central and whichever other team they should beat, but don't.  

3-4 Dubuque and Coe in a tie - Dubuque has really improved in my mind, but they aren't quite as successful in replacing their standout QB as Central and ends up tying with Coe in the conference.  Coe doesn't move up, but they are enough ahead of the rest of the conference that they don't really go down either.  At least not yet this year.  I'm not convinced they will stay in the top 3.

5 Loras

6-7 Luther/Simpson

8-9 BV and Cornell

IMHO - Willis should have never given up coaching at WB.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[dutchfan1]

Thanks, Klompen, for chiming in. Every year Central graduates a lot of seniors (because, hey, we have a lot of guys that want to stay with the program all four years....!!) and every year guys on here predict that Central will be second or third in the conference. Maybe it's optimism on the part of the rest of the conference, or maybe it's respect for the outgoing seniors....either way, about this time every year, Central is picked to finish behind Wartburg.

I think it's cute.

[doolittledog]

Central is dumbing down their non-con schedule so they won't be beat up before their showdown with Wartburg 

I kid, I kid.

Probably too early for this but here goes.

1A. Wartburg because I think they return a few more starters...but I really don't know that.
1B. Central, they can lose talent every year and still be ok, the Dutch reload as opposed to rebuild.
3A. Dubuque, lose some starters but have a deeper bench than some realise.
3B. Coe, coaching change, but it was kept in-house and they have a lot of talent returning.
5. BV, if BV can stay consistant they should be pretty good...small recruiting classes might begin to hurt them in the near future though.
6. Simpson, new coach sounds like a winner and I think the Storm are probably a program on the rise...just might be a year away from that though.
7. Luther, I'm just not sure the Norse football team has the support from the administration that they need to succeed in the IIAC, but I really don't know that either.
8. Loras, I think they are on their way down in the conference...I'm only putting them ahead of Cornell because the Duhawks play Cornell in the Rock Bowl this year.
9.  Cornell continues to improve and will get some more wins this year.  Including a game winning TD from Hey's Jr.  A passing train will blow its horn causing the d-line to pause just long enough for the Cornell QB to have a bit more time in the pocket and find Hey's Jr open over the middle for the game winning TD!!!

[the_mayne_event]

I feel like it will be yet again a three horse race in the conference, just like it has in the past 7? years now.

Wartburg - i guess it is the popular vote - probably will be tough again with a good defense.  did yordi do anything passing last year? (honest question).  if not he will probably be relied on much more becuase they have had pretty much same starting running backs like the last 4 years (with a small varience)

Central/Coe
Coe - defense steps up, pitches shutouts in a down year offensivly in the conference
Central - opposite as cornell, until they start losing, they will always be up there (can be said about wartburg, and now possibly coe as well)



BV/DBq/Simpson
BV - i have no idea about this team
Dbq- lost too much, i believe will be on the decline once again
Simpson- i dont know, maybe the new coach inspires the team

Luther - only thing i know is that they lost possibly their best RB ever, as well as their head coach - on the decline as well

Loras
Cornell
Loras won't be very good again, cornell can come out of the seller after they win a conference game.  until then that's where they stay

that's how i think it will finish, i have no logic behind my reasoning.  it is just safe to put teams in that order pretty much every year now, until something changes.

has the conference MVP ever gone to a defensive player?  -- my vote is tom breitbach (i know he does play WR to, but most DB)

[Walston Hoover]

Yordi lead the conference in yards per game passing.
Completed almost 60% of his passes.
18 TDs
8 picks

[the_mayne_event]

well then i stand (or sit) corrected.
i didnt know, was just curious

[KCDutch]

Yordi lead the conference in yards per game passing.
Completed almost 60% of his passes.
18 TDs
8 picks

What are his stats if you took out the screen pass Wartburg runs?  It works and it is hard to contain, but it pads the pass completion percent and picks, in my opinion.

[the_mayne_event]

Yordi lead the conference in yards per game passing.
Completed almost 60% of his passes.
18 TDs
8 picks

What are his stats if you took out the screen pass Wartburg runs?  It works and it is hard to contain, but it pads the pass completion percent and picks, in my opinion.

screen passes (bubble, rocket, inside) should be counted as runs.

[Walston Hoover]

No idea what % were that, but everyone's got them. Its not like its an unfair advantage for him.

[KCDutch]

I'm not saying his stats are not good, but inflated by the number of rocket (is the terminology Wartburg uses?) screens Wartburg runs.  I could be wrong, its happened a few times, but it seems Warburg runs the rocket screen much more than most teams and thus why I think Yordi's numbers (completion % especially) are a little inflated.

[Walston Hoover]

I would be surprised if Wartburg averaged 4 rocket screens a game this year. The linemen weren't as mobile so it wasn't something they were very good at.

[KCDutch]

IThe linemen weren't as mobile so it wasn't something they were very good at.

Mark the tape, WH stated Wartburg doesn't do something well.......

[TheOne89.1]

I think he was just trying to point out that the o-linemen were not as quick on their feet as Walston was back in the day.

[Klompen]

I agree DF1, it is interesting to watch the early picks.  I just think Central has it together again and while I will say this year's seniors were more talented than some of the years, I just don't think it will stop them.  I'm not sure if that is just me being a true Central believer the way the rest of the conference always hopes someone will knock us off or not, but I have to keep believing.  I can understand the picks though with the seniors we lose and the fact that we just eeked out so many wins, but I think there are going to be a lot of guys working extra hard in the off season just to prove they can do it.  Combine that with some of the talent looking at coming into Central and it means success.  (I do wish we played Wartburg later though, but the early game might backfire on them if they think we have too many holes to fill.  If nothing else, they won't know for sure what we are going to throw at them.)