FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

And at Wartburg the homecoming needs to be scheduled around the horse auction and if possible UNI homecoming.  From a community impact the horse sale is probably a bigger deal to restaurants, motels and shops than is homecoming at either Wartburg or UNI.

+ Karma for reminding us of what else comes into play on when WC HC is scheduled.

Somewhere in California, PH is thinking to himself..."horse auction?!?!"   

[Walston Hoover]

And at Wartburg the homecoming needs to be scheduled around the horse auction and if possible UNI homecoming.  From a community impact the horse sale is probably a bigger deal to restaurants, motels and shops than is homecoming at either Wartburg or UNI.

+ Karma for reminding us of what else comes into play on when WC HC is scheduled.

Somewhere in California, PH is thinking to himself..."horse auction?!?!"   

And somewhere in Hazleton or Kalona, an Amish man is saying "computer?!?!"

[footballdaddy]

Spoke to an incoming freshman at Central this weekend and was pretty upset to here this story. It sounds like Central has around 140 guys in camp, which seems pretty high, but the part that bothers/worries me is the fact that in this particular players recruitment he was told that they wouldn't have more then 115 to 120 guys on the team and that he would have plenty of reps in practice. I would hope that Central just had more people show up then they actually recruited, which is a very realistic possibility. From hearing from a few people some of the coaches on the staff were pretty upset with the numbers and felt they were to high. It seems like when you get up over 130 players, your opportunities in practice are very limited and some very good players can be looked over. Is this a case of over recruiting to keep players from other schools? I sure don't know, Central was always one of the best and classiest programs that I ever played against so I don't think that this was the case. Any word from anyone closer to the program on this?

I know you guys think I'm delustional but like I said, it's more difficult to coach a talented team.
Everybody wants to go with the winner. The real players want to go make the winners  

Time will tell

I'm sure if you polled every coach in every sport, you would find that all of them want all the talent they can get. It may be less of a challenge knowing what to do with one or two exceptional players instead of 20, but i'd rather have 20 exceptional players instead of one or two.


In regards to Central, whe footballkid waas recruited he was told that they like to keep incoming classes to around 40. He was also told that he may be a senior before he got significant playing time. I wouldn't think Mac would be any less forthright with this year's recruits. I do know a t Wartburg that 135 is a lot easier to handle that the almost 170 they had last year.  

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Central had nasty blizzards for a couple of October homecomings back in the 90's. I seem to recall I whined to the alumni office about it.  Anyway, since then they have had homecoming late in September.

[Purple Heys]

This is what I had some trouble with...

...From a community impact the horse sale is probably a bigger deal to restaurants...

I hope that isn't from a menu standpoint...

[Purple Heys]

This is what I had some trouble with...

...From a community impact the horse sale is probably a bigger deal to restaurants...

I hope that isn't from a menu standpoint...

And I am still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of sushi in Texas!    8)

[TrainsEqualCrowdNoise]

Well I know what you guys are thinkin, Oh no not another Cornell fan, but here I am.  I've been reading the posts and have decided I can't keep my two cents from these pages any longer.

I am glad to see there is so much optimism for the Rams this year, but sorry to say it, I think the Rams are going to have another tough year.  While there are some players with talent, the Rams are still going to be short on impact players and most importantly there are lots of questions up front as there will be 4 new starters on the O-line.  I think this alone will make it slow going on offense and even if the defense, which is the more experienced of the two units, can hold opponents under 17 points, the Rams may have trouble scoring 7.  Also, I hope the Rams can find someone who can kick the ball, as special teams has seemed to put the rams in holes during the last couple of seasons.

I'm glad to hear that Bush is in camp, as he is a very talented athlete, but unfortunately I believe that he is playing out of position like two of his three predecessors were (Adam Hadenfeldt being a line backer and Anthony Kobler being more of a running back/slot receiver).  I believe this has been the main issue with the Cornell offense since the graduation of Chris Lovely, that Cornell has been unable to find a true quarterback or utilize the strengths of the guys playing the position.  Hadenfeldt played in the offense that Lovely thrived in the triple option, when he was more of a pocket passer while Kobler seemed to struggle with the Wing-T but had limited success with the more run based spread that was used by Cornell in '05.  Even Ryan Mills had issues with the Wing-T as he was more of a dropback passer rather than a runner.  When it comes to Bush, by far his greatest asset is his legs.  He runs with authority and has the body to support this style.  I believe he would be an all-conference running back in this league that could tote the rock 30-40 times a game.  Not saying he can't succeed at the QB position, just saying that it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to utilize his assets better than has been seen in the past, mush like Florida uses Tim Tebow.

I'm also curious as to how many freshman have reported to camp and what this year's numbers look like.  Numbers aren't everything but they sure do help and I don't think we would mind at all having to deal with 150 players.

Oh and on a final note, these are the players I think people should watch for or need to have big seasons for the Rams to succeed: Travion Hardman(RB), Alex Macey (TE), Don Bladt (DB), and Brian King (LB)

[Thunderbolt]

Well I know what you guys are thinkin, Oh no not another Cornell fan, but here I am.  I've been reading the posts and have decided I can't keep my two cents from these pages any longer.

I am glad to see there is so much optimism for the Rams this year, but sorry to say it, I think the Rams are going to have another tough year.  While there are some players with talent, the Rams are still going to be short on impact players and most importantly there are lots of questions up front as there will be 4 new starters on the O-line.  I think this alone will make it slow going on offense and even if the defense, which is the more experienced of the two units, can hold opponents under 17 points, the Rams may have trouble scoring 7.  Also, I hope the Rams can find someone who can kick the ball, as special teams has seemed to put the rams in holes during the last couple of seasons.

I'm glad to hear that Bush is in camp, as he is a very talented athlete, but unfortunately I believe that he is playing out of position like two of his three predecessors were (Adam Hadenfeldt being a line backer and Anthony Kobler being more of a running back/slot receiver).  I believe this has been the main issue with the Cornell offense since the graduation of Chris Lovely, that Cornell has been unable to find a true quarterback or utilize the strengths of the guys playing the position.  Hadenfeldt played in the offense that Lovely thrived in the triple option, when he was more of a pocket passer while Kobler seemed to struggle with the Wing-T but had limited success with the more run based spread that was used by Cornell in '05.  Even Ryan Mills had issues with the Wing-T as he was more of a dropback passer rather than a runner.  When it comes to Bush, by far his greatest asset is his legs.  He runs with authority and has the body to support this style.  I believe he would be an all-conference running back in this league that could tote the rock 30-40 times a game.  Not saying he can't succeed at the QB position, just saying that it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to utilize his assets better than has been seen in the past, mush like Florida uses Tim Tebow.

I'm also curious as to how many freshman have reported to camp and what this year's numbers look like.  Numbers aren't everything but they sure do help and I don't think we would mind at all having to deal with 150 players.

Oh and on a final note, these are the players I think people should watch for or need to have big seasons for the Rams to succeed: Travion Hardman(RB), Alex Macey (TE), Don Bladt (DB), and Brian King (LB)

Welcome aboard, and a great first post. I think you captured the reality of Cornells problem this year. With only around 20 juniors and seniors on the roster, its tough to put a lot of experience on the field, even if you never have an injury.

[dutchfan1]

Welcome to the board TECN -- good to have you!

Interesting analysis of the Rams. Cornell seems to be the unknown this year. Thanks for throwing your $.02 into the mix.

[Thunderbolt]

 Thats a great name also!

[Thunderbolt]

This is what I had some trouble with...

...From a community impact the horse sale is probably a bigger deal to restaurants...

I hope that isn't from a menu standpoint...

Thats funny! I just had a vision of Prince Fielder and a team of horses sitting at the same salad bar.

[ShowMe]

Well I know what you guys are thinkin, Oh no not another Cornell fan, but here I am.  I've been reading the posts and have decided I can't keep my two cents from these pages any longer.

I am glad to see there is so much optimism for the Rams this year, but sorry to say it, I think the Rams are going to have another tough year.  While there are some players with talent, the Rams are still going to be short on impact players and most importantly there are lots of questions up front as there will be 4 new starters on the O-line.  I think this alone will make it slow going on offense and even if the defense, which is the more experienced of the two units, can hold opponents under 17 points, the Rams may have trouble scoring 7.  Also, I hope the Rams can find someone who can kick the ball, as special teams has seemed to put the rams in holes during the last couple of seasons.

I'm glad to hear that Bush is in camp, as he is a very talented athlete, but unfortunately I believe that he is playing out of position like two of his three predecessors were (Adam Hadenfeldt being a line backer and Anthony Kobler being more of a running back/slot receiver).  I believe this has been the main issue with the Cornell offense since the graduation of Chris Lovely, that Cornell has been unable to find a true quarterback or utilize the strengths of the guys playing the position.  Hadenfeldt played in the offense that Lovely thrived in the triple option, when he was more of a pocket passer while Kobler seemed to struggle with the Wing-T but had limited success with the more run based spread that was used by Cornell in '05.  Even Ryan Mills had issues with the Wing-T as he was more of a dropback passer rather than a runner.  When it comes to Bush, by far his greatest asset is his legs.  He runs with authority and has the body to support this style.  I believe he would be an all-conference running back in this league that could tote the rock 30-40 times a game.  Not saying he can't succeed at the QB position, just saying that it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to utilize his assets better than has been seen in the past, mush like Florida uses Tim Tebow.

I'm also curious as to how many freshman have reported to camp and what this year's numbers look like.  Numbers aren't everything but they sure do help and I don't think we would mind at all having to deal with 150 players.

Oh and on a final note, these are the players I think people should watch for or need to have big seasons for the Rams to succeed: Travion Hardman(RB), Alex Macey (TE), Don Bladt (DB), and Brian King (LB)

Welcome Cornell fan, we need all the help we can get on the board.

Thanks for posting the other players to watch too.

Our passing game is one of the areas we must improve. I believe there are two reasons, we dropped a lot of passes last year, especially when Bush was playing and we were in 3rd and long to often. I'm sure there were some bad passes in the mix too but overall, if we solve the two problems mentioned, we will some success on offense.

I believe Bush will have to be a dual threat QB. He will have to be a good passer and hit the receivers. The receivers have a responsibility too! I've seen him throw some beautiful passes too!

After all, it should be easy to hit a 6' 5" TE.

Having a running QB is a benefit for the Wing T but the true benefit having an athelet is when we move the other offensive sets. We do not have the same constraints at QB now, meaning we can do more with a better athlete. The Wing T is a good offense when you don't have the strength at QB.

Let's hope it works out, I've wished/hoped enough on the board for them to confuse it with smack talk.

I would like a report on the freshman calls too.

[Airborne Dutch]

In regards to the Central camp situation, it will sort itself out in the next few weeks. A lot of guys will show up and think that they will be able to step in and be a stud right away. It will be a very harsh lesson in reality when they realize that that won't be the case. Guys will get hurt and say enough is enough. I'd say that by the start of the season, they will be down to 115-120. The players that stick around and endure the three years just to start one are the tough types of players that Central builds around.

[the_mayne_event]

is this the most Cornell fans on the board at the same time?

[TrainsEqualCrowdNoise]

Having a running QB is a benefit for the Wing T but the true benefit having an athelet is when we move the other offensive sets. We do not have the same constraints at QB now, meaning we can do more with a better athlete. The Wing T is a good offense when you don't have the strength at QB.

I personally am not a fan of the Wing T, I know it can be a successful offense but its success comes when it goes up against a speedy, aggressive, over pursuing defense that gets itself in trouble by being out of position.  And unfortunately for the Rams, most if not all the defenses in the IIAC are not overly aggressive nor do they over pursue.  The defenses in the IIAC are built to stop the run and to play solid gap control defense.  I think that this is a large reason there has not been the overwhelming success that myself and others thought there would be when Dillon brought this offense to the conference.  I could be wrong as often times I am, but there just seems to be a lack of unpredictability as well that has at times led to frustrations in the lack of ball movement by the offense.  I think if the coaching staff is willing to change the offense more to fit the athletes we do have, then success will come.  For instance, Wartburg used to do nothing but run the football down your throat and last year they switched to a spread attack that featured lots of WR screens.  Luther has gone back and forth from a TE driven passing game, to giving Sheridan the ball 50 times a game, to throwing in multiple WR sets.  Thus, if Cornell is going to succeed at all in the near future, it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put these kids in the best possible situation to succeed.

This makes me wonder though, will Central change its style of play after losing its starting QB and All-Everything RB?  I seem to remember smaller, quicker backs when Schuring was hurt and wonder if this will cause a style change in the Central offense.  Also, I think Luther has a great chance to be great this year as their defense impressed me the most out of any team last year.  If the can find an identity on offense, I think they could be a force this year in the league.  T

There isn't a team in this league that you can take lightly on any given Saturday.  And that's what makes this conference so great!!!