FB: American Rivers Conference

[DutchFan2004]

not knowing a lot about the conference this year I would like to hear thoughts on who will be an impact player this season

Give me your top three:

QB
RB
O-Line
Receiver/TE
LB
DB
D-Line
Special Teams– Returner
Special Teams – Kicker

be sure to list the school and year

if you only have 1 or 2 at a position I'd still love to hear who it is

I think I will start with the more obvious:

QB
1 = Hanus SR Dubuque (1st Team All-Conference)
2 = Nelson JR Simpson (2nd Team All-Conference)
3 = Atwater FR Coe (going out on a limb - but I like what I hear about this kid and as of now not a lot of other QBs getting much attention)

I think that Hanus is the top returner and should be the favorite.  Nelson should also be in the mix from last years results.  I want to throw something out there though and why I have not ranked any position yet.  The year 2004 and Wartburg had Hoskins the second team all conference QB returning as well as Coe had Brannen back from 1st team.  Brannen was a repeat but Hoskins after a great playoff run (and losing his top targets to throw to) never made the team again.  Hanus is a good QB but had great targets to throw to.  I think this year is a lot like that year.  There are returning players but there was a huge number of key players that graduated from the top schools.  QB is a position that gets all the attention but is the only position that relies on all of the other 10 players on his team doing their job so he can do his.  Running backs are in the same boat.  The big boys in the trenches have to do their job, the receivers have to block for the RB's and catch passes from the QB.  I think there are just too many question marks on the returning players to say who will be on the all conference team.  If UD can give Hanus targets to catch the ball I think he will win hands down.  If he throws the ball and his receivers don't catch it the field is wide open.  Like I said in earlier posts this season is so wide open any team can win the conference and rise to the top.  The only team I don't think has a shot is Loras.  The only reason I say this is they have never won the IIAC and with the top 4 teams from a year ago I see no reason the Duhawks should receive any consideration for the top spot.  I am looking forward to this season to see how the teams reload their rosters.

[warthog]

Some Olympic observations:
1) Why do divers have to take a day off to rest before the next round? Swimmers will have a 400 meter race and come back 20 minutes later for another.
2) How can outdoor bicycle racing be so enjoyable and indoor racing be so boring?
3) After watching some diving and learning splashes are point deductions, I think they should have cannonball competitions where big splashes win the gold.
4) I don't care that Gabby Douglas didn't wear a stars & stripes gymnastics outfit. I thought she was perfectly darling in hot pink.
5) Bring back college kids as the roster for USA Olympic basketball. I don't care what the rest of the world does. Nor do I care if the USA wins gold every year. Close games are more enjoyable.
6) Lots of Olympians from other countries participate in their sport at the college level in the United States.
7) Along with cannonball diving, tug of war should be an Olympic event.
8) I wish the weather in London would warm up. Women's Beach Volleyball would be more fun to watch if the teams weren't wearing sweatshirts.

[hazzben]

Hanus is a good QB but had great targets to throw to.  I think this year is a lot like that year.  There are returning players but there was a huge number of key players that graduated from the top schools.  QB is a position that gets all the attention but is the only position that relies on all of the other 10 players on his team doing their job so he can do his.  Running backs are in the same boat.  The big boys in the trenches have to do their job, the receivers have to block for the RB's and catch passes from the QB.  I think there are just too many question marks on the returning players to say who will be on the all conference team.  If UD can give Hanus targets to catch the ball I think he will win hands down.  If he throws the ball and his receivers don't catch it the field is wide open.

Well said.

I can't speak to how deep the UD graduation losses go. They bring back Skaife on the OL (while losing Lang) and Hookstead is a very good TE. But losing the likes of Spaulding, Zweifel and Fleming is massive. Without looking it up, I'd guess those three guys probably accounted for close to 85% of UD's offensive production last year.

Hanus is obviously a gifted passer, but as Gisele so accurately put it, he can't throw the ball and catch it too!  Like I said, I don't know how many offensive starters they've got returning, or how deep and talented their new starters might be. But they didn't have any guys listed as honorable mention on offense last year. It's not just Hanus who will have to step up even more this year, the WR's and RB's have some huge shoes to fill.

My prediction, being an outsider to the IIAC and a MIAC guy:

UD takes a step back. Not momentous, but a step back. IMO it's a three horse race between Coe, Wartburg and Central. I think UD and Simpson become the clear second tier. I just can't see Simpson competing for the title after watching them early last year against Bethel. They obviously improved tremendously as the year went on, but I think they've still got a ways to go before they return to form.

The Wartburg v. Bethel game week 2 (week 1 for Bethel) should be a great and interesting matchup. If both teams perform well in conference play it could have serious implications for Pool C berths coming out of either league.

Man, can I just echo that the first few weeks of August are awesome and agonizing! It's so close to game day...

[putmeincoach]

I cannot count out Simpson with a returning all-conference QB and such a wide open race
I think with this many contenders an experienced QB may be the difference
Moving on:  who are the top returning running backs?
Leiren – SR Coe (only returning 1st teamer)
Dahlstrom - SR Wartburg (returning 2nd team)
Kass – SR Loras (2011 Honorable Mention)
Chia – Simpson (saw him a lot in high school and a couple of times last year)
Give me some thoughts on these players and other RB's – like I said I don't know a lot about the conference this year

[Fannosaurus Rex]

I know I should be careful about the conclusions I draw based on stats from the 4th quarter in Dubuque's 2011 blow out of Central, a game I have only read about and saw none of.  But there seemed to be more to the Spartans than Zweifel.  In the whole fourth quarter, Dubuque ran 20 offensive plays.  I don't know how many of them Zweifel was on the field for, but 18 of the 20 fourth quarter plays were, "Kyle Acker rush for X yards."  In 18 carries he averaged 6.1 yards per, including a touchdown.  At some point, I like to think Central must have figured out who was going to get the ball and they still couldn't stop him.  And he was only a sophomore.  I know the game was pretty much over at that point, but it is enough for me to think that Dubuque could be a contender without Zweifel.

[doolittledog]

I think it all depends on the line play.  You could have Peyton  Manning throwing to Jerry Rice  and handing off to Emmit Smith and it wouldn't matter if he didn't have a superior line play.

[footballdaddy]

Nice to see Coe getting some on the front page, but couldn't they have found a picture of someone more recent than Ashton Northern?

[notlongago]

I know I should be careful about the conclusions I draw based on stats from the 4th quarter in Dubuque's 2011 blow out of Central, a game I have only read about and saw none of.  But there seemed to be more to the Spartans than Zweifel.  In the whole fourth quarter, Dubuque ran 20 offensive plays.  I don't know how many of them Zweifel was on the field for, but 18 of the 20 fourth quarter plays were, "Kyle Acker rush for X yards."  In 18 carries he averaged 6.1 yards per, including a touchdown.  At some point, I like to think Central must have figured out who was going to get the ball and they still couldn't stop him.  And he was only a sophomore.  I know the game was pretty much over at that point, but it is enough for me to think that Dubuque could be a contender without Zweifel.

Don't draw any conclusions from that fourth quarter. I did watch it, and aside from not having some starters out there, Central was a broken team by that point having been thoroughly decimated by dubuque (specifically Zweifel and Hanus)...not to mention roughly 30 of ackers yards came off a long run where central had him wrapped up at the line, but another would be tackler hit his own defender off the ball carrier thus springing him for the majority of those yards and TD

[Pat Coleman]

Nice to see Coe getting some on the front page, but couldn't they have found a picture of someone more recent than Ashton Northern?

That's Demetreus Johnson.

[DutchFan2004]

I think it all depends on the line play.  You could have Peyton  Manning throwing to Jerry Rice  and handing off to Emmit Smith and it wouldn't matter if he didn't have a superior line play.

I agree with you DD.  The line of both sides of the ball will be key it always is.

I wouldn't count any team out when games haven't even started even Loras.  I was just saying the odds are not in the Duhawks favor.  Or maybe they are in their favor having been the only team not to have won the IIAC. 

[Kohawk Krazy]

Nice to see Coe getting some on the front page, but couldn't they have found a picture of someone more recent than Ashton Northern?

As Pat pointed out, that's Demetreus Johnson, a preseason All-American. He led the nation in interceptions last year as well.

[wartknight]

Some Olympic observations:
5) Bring back college kids as the roster for USA Olympic basketball. I don't care what the rest of the world does. Nor do I care if the USA wins gold every year. Close games are more enjoyable.

DITTO!! DITTO!! & DITTO!!

[Willie University]

I think we all know what players will sorely be missed by the Spartans.

However, The O-Line lost 1 guy. If UD didn't have the best RB in the conference, Kyle Acker would have been starting since his freshman year. He could have started at every other school in my opinion. Not to mention RB2 is quite a talent as well. Miles Hookstead returns as the top TE in the conference and a great pass catcher. Wyatt Hanus has 3 years of being in Coach Z's system. Is deadly accurate and very intelligent.

Given all of those factors, I am not worried in the least. As far as the biggest "concern"....who will replace zweifel and fleming? That is simple for me to answer. No one can REPLACE them but I have confidence that the coaching staff is going to put guys out there that can get the job done. And if you haven't figured out by now after the 1st IIAC championship in 30 years, Coach Z and staff are pretty darn good recruiters.

It's not rebuild anymore, it's reload my friends

Willie U

[Purple Heys]

This season the Cornell Rams return...wait...never mind.   

[notlongago]

I think we all know what players will sorely be missed by the Spartans.

However, The O-Line lost 1 guy. If UD didn't have the best RB in the conference, Kyle Acker would have been starting since his freshman year. He could have started at every other school in my opinion. Not to mention RB2 is quite a talent as well. Miles Hookstead returns as the top TE in the conference and a great pass catcher. Wyatt Hanus has 3 years of being in Coach Z's system. Is deadly accurate and very intelligent.

Given all of those factors, I am not worried in the least. As far as the biggest "concern"....who will replace zweifel and fleming? That is simple for me to answer. No one can REPLACE them but I have confidence that the coaching staff is going to put guys out there that can get the job done. And if you haven't figured out by now after the 1st IIAC championship in 30 years, Coach Z and staff are pretty darn good recruiters.

It's not rebuild anymore, it's reload my friends

Willie U

What you're not taking into account is how Zweifel forced defenses to alter their base defense, philosophy, and game plan which allowed those other players to exploit holes. Without him there teams can go back to what they do best and play it straight up. No longer will players be playing out of position or with different responsibilities from what they learned in camp and every other week of the season.

Also, I don't know how many titles you have to win in x amount of years, but I know its not 1 in 30 before you can start claiming you reload instead of rebuild haha.