FB: American Rivers Conference

[Klopenhiemer]

Link to SI - Ed Thomas article
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1157377/index.htm

That's one of the neatest pictures that I have ever seen. 

[Purple Heys]

I just read the SI article and having viewed the cover.

An outstanding tribute to the man and his spirit.

I have many thoughts:

This occurred to me before I read his son's word from W-H.  We need to get out of this and get back to what we do here.  However insignifcant our banter is.  It is important that we get back to doing it.  Posting here about our favorite D3 teams in a light and fun way doesn't stop us from being better son's, brother's, father's, sister', or mother's, etc.  This is part of that.  Supporting your teams, enjoying your life is a small shine on what the spirit of Coach Thomas inspires, to me, based on hearing and reading of him.

It is a shame folks that don't know them, only get to know folks like Coach Thomas through tragedy.

How many other places have their own Coach Thomas?  Why can't we hear about them now, in life, and celebrate them?  Why do I have to hear about Jon and Kate or Bernie Madoff?

This must be real heavy for the folks that are close and I hope they can find their peace.  I can't really relate to how hard this hits you guys but I hope you can find your way through and rejoin the banter and the fun...and that it in some small way helps you heal.

[Purple Heys]

So with that said...


Teams that have lost some significant talent...how do they plan to replace highly productive players, who fills their large shoes:

Loras:  McGrew

Wartburg:  Vetter and Hoerner

Coe: Breitbach, Jordan Wilkins

BV:  Matt Peary

Simpson:  Adam Reutzal

Who else belongs on this list?

[doolittledog]

So with that said...


Teams that have lost some significant talent...how do they plan to replace highly productive players, who fills their large shoes:

Loras:  McGrew

Wartburg:  Vetter and Hoerner

Coe: Breitbach, Jordan Wilkins

BV:  Matt Peary

Simpson:  Adam Reutzal

Who else belongs on this list?

Cornell:  Travion Hardman...a lot of good backs in the IIAC would have had a hard time getting the yards Hardman picked up over his career in Mt. Vernon. 

Dubuque:  Big question mark.  With new coach we get a new scheme.  I have no idea how losses will affect the team because of the new offense being installed. 

[the_mayne_event]

So with that said...


Teams that have lost some significant talent...how do they plan to replace highly productive players, who fills their large shoes:

Loras:  McGrew

Wartburg:  Vetter and Hoerner

Coe: Breitbach, Jordan Wilkins - pretty sure they lost all 5 linemen also
BV:  Matt Peary

Simpson:  Adam Reutzal

Who else belongs on this list?

[Kohawk Remedy]

So with that said...


Teams that have lost some significant talent...how do they plan to replace highly productive players, who fills their large shoes:

Loras:  McGrew

Wartburg:  Vetter and Hoerner

Coe: Breitbach, Jordan Wilkins - pretty sure they lost all 5 linemen also
BV:  Matt Peary

Simpson:  Adam Reutzal

Who else belongs on this list?

I have to agree with TME...the biggest shoes Coe has to fill is the whole OL.  The freshman QB Boyle from last year I think will only get better with an offseason in him and Hammes will still be a stud, the defense will still be pretty stellar as usual with 3 great LBs from last year and also 1 transfering in from Iowa State they should be pretty good.  Again main shoes to fill are primarly the OL and DL which lost the most starters.

[Walston Hoover]

I think moreso than Vetter and Hoerner, although they were great players, is the Defenders that need to be replaced

So with that said...


Teams that have lost some significant talent...how do they plan to replace highly productive players, who fills their large shoes:

Loras:  McGrew

Wartburg:  Vetter and Hoerner

Coe: Breitbach, Jordan Wilkins

BV:  Matt Peary

Simpson:  Adam Reutzal

Who else belongs on this list?

[Purple Heys]

I think moreso than Vetter and Hoerner, although they were great players, is the Defenders that need to be replaced

Defenders names?

[Purple Heys]

For Cornell...Hardman is the one name that sticks out.

2nd leading rusher in school history.  Hard worker.  He leaves a gaping hole that we need to fill.

Leading candidate from Sping would have to be C.J. McDonald.  A would-be replacement, Garret Hepker, elected to focus on Wrestling.

I think the loss of Hardman is tempered somewhat in that I expect Cornell to focus on throwing the ball a bit more.  Even though Bush will not return, I think this actually gives us the opportunity to have Bubba Eisenhaur step in.  Bush was really more of a runner and might really have been out of place at QB...I hear he's transferred to play Slot elsewhere (would rather him stayed and played there for us...).

Eisenhaur is a big kid and I heard he had a very good Spring.  He's a Sophomore, so once again we are breaking in a new guy.  He's got Jr. and Kyle Tierney to throw to and I heard we have a couple of recruits that have the skill to contribute.

The Oline will be a question mark, but I think by spreading things out we can offset this somewhat

I am looking forward to seeing how new OC Don Dicus deploys the group.  Obviously I am keenly focusing on what he does with Jr.

I did a statistical look at how well Cornell fared with Jr. in and out of the lineup when he sat out 3 games with the H.A.S.  Our total offfensive output dropped by 30% when he was not in the lineup, with his biggest impact being on the running game curiously enough.

When he came back for the final 3 games, Hardman had 3 consecutive +100 yard efforts.  I was talking to Dillon earlier this year and he said they had scripted the Loras game to have about 80% of the offense to go to Jr. as a primary receiver or behind him as a lead blocker.  When he rolled his ankle and came on the 1st quarter that just killed what they looking to do.  Loras having McGrew on the other side didn't hurt too much as they rolled us.

I was surprised to see how much Jr.'s presence helped though, he was especially adept at making his catches in traffic for 1st down yardage.  He needs to get his big arse in the endzone more this year though...but then again, it didn't matter either way, we lost all 10 games last year.

I am ever the optimist.  I think we come out better prepared against Grinnell and should win that one and can build some momentum off of that.  I hope to see Jr. have a major hand in that.  I think he can have a big year this year.

OK, OK so I'm a proud dad...

[Purple Heys]

... with 3 great LBs from last year and also 1 transfering in from Iowa State they should be pretty good.  Again main shoes to fill are...DL which lost the most starters.

Question: with Wilkins and Hadenfeldt occupying blockers last year, giving the these guys space to roam...how much do you think the LB's will miss the having guys like that in front of them next year?

[Kohawk Krazy]

... with 3 great LBs from last year and also 1 transfering in from Iowa State they should be pretty good.  Again main shoes to fill are...DL which lost the most starters.

Question: with Wilkins and Hadenfeldt occupying blockers last year, giving the these guys space to roam...how much do you think the LB's will miss the having guys like that in front of them next year?

Don't get me wrong, Hadenfeldt and Wilkens were great players for the Kohawks.  With the skill level of the 3 Linebackers, I think they will figure out ways to do damage of their own.  Will Calvin and Tate each have 120 tackles again? Probably  not?  Will they both earn postseason honors and cause problems for opposing offenses?  Probably.

[sportsknight]

I think moreso than Vetter and Hoerner, although they were great players, is the Defenders that need to be replaced

Defenders names?

Jason Lansing, Marcus Hemesath, Kyle Goodchild, Eric Lauterbach, Ryan Gerardy, Josh Faaborg, Nico Botembe, Jake Braun.

Not to mention WR Dan Bauder, who came up huge in the playoff win over UWSP.

[Walston Hoover]

There is going to need to be a lot of guys that step up on the defensive side of the ball.
All these guys mentioned 2 and 3 year starters and most have been contributing for 4 years.

I think moreso than Vetter and Hoerner, although they were great players, is the Defenders that need to be replaced

Defenders names?

Jason Lansing, Marcus Hemesath, Kyle Goodchild, Eric Lauterbach, Ryan Gerardy, Josh Faaborg, Nico Botembe, Jake Braun.

Not to mention WR Dan Bauder, who came up huge in the playoff win over UWSP.

[Klopenhiemer]

3 teams to watch based on last year and how they respond this year. 

Wartburg:  New faces on defense
BV:  Core is intact but are replacing skill positions
Cornell:  Still vying for the first conference win in two years.  Lets not count them out just yet!

4 teams to watch that could move up in the ranks from a year ago

Central:  Lets see if the wooden shoes still fit
Coe:  Year 2 of the new HC could make a difference
Simpson:  Lets see what kind of talent Glo has brought in
Luther:  Showed some promise and I am interested to see what the new HC has done in the off season

2 teams that will stay equal to or worse that last year

Loras:  There work horse is gone and I hear no reports that they have another in the hopper. 
UD:  You will see an improved UD team from the point of fundamentals, but growing pains will rear their head again.   

[sportsknight]

I think Wartburg has to be the favorite going into the season.  The Knights have a lot to replace on defense, but if Yordi can find some decent guys to throw to, the offense should be good enough to cover the D for a couple games.

I really believe Simpson is going to make another jump in the standings this year.  They won't surprise anybody anymore, but it soulds like Glo has a good thing going there.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Central.  They fell back to Earth in a big way last year, but it should be interesting to see how they respond this season.  I see them falling somewhere in the 3-4-5 range in the standings, but no worse than 5th.

Coe will probably fall in next.  They have a lot to replace in some pretty key spots, and I think that inexperience will keep them from being a contender.  A lot of people might see them as being a "hard-luck" team this year because they'll be in a lot of games, but won't have enough to pull out Ws in most of them.

BV will fall right in that 2nd tier as well.  Good enough to beat the Luthers and Cornells, .500 against the Coes and Dubuques, but not enough to run with Wartburg and Simpson.

Dubuque is the other big question mark this year.  Just how far have they fallen since '07?  Just how much of a difference will Z make?  I can easily see them finishing anywhere from 2nd to 2nd last in the league depending on the answers to those two questions.

Loras falls back to Earth in a big way this year.  You can't lose a guy that meant as much to your team as McGrew meant to Loras, and not expect a drop-off.  Coach Osty might start feeling the heat this year, especially depending on how his boys fare against the cross-towners.

Luther will be Luther.  They'll put a scare into a few teams, but won't be able to sustan a full 60 minutes well enough to win more than they lose.

Cornell will be Cornell.  Which means winless.  I really thought they'd get over the hump last year, but unless they shore up that defense and find a running game to replace Hardiman, it ain't gonna happen this year.