FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

You heard it here first, Roman Namdar is going to be a sensation for Mount Union this year.

This just made me think.

With Burke graduating after this year and Namdar sitting last year out, could Roman be the Starting QB in 2015?

[HScoach]

Is it safe to assume that our offensive coordinators new name is now Geoff Kehres, since he married a kehres?
Might not be a bad idea! You can't have too many of them

So with V.K. AND L.K. And now Geoff /OC married to L.K.,S daughter  THE Purple Raiders now  have The " KEHRES SHOW". Sounds good to me !
Look out division 3 football as the Alliance Ohio  University Of Mount Union continue to to be TOP OF THE HEAP !
The "KEHRES SHOW " Nice Sounding"  Begins soon !

Correction.  ....continue to be NEAR the top.....and continuing their quest to return to the top.

[Dr. Acula]

As I posted after seeing him in his only action last year (W&J scrimmage), Namdar is a difference maker at WR because he is a home run threat.  He's a superior athlete with great speed.  He's going to catch some long passes this year.  And take this for what it's worth, but he is only listed as a Soph on the spring roster (Burke is listed as a Sr).

The two things I'm most excited to see are Namdar and if they can figure out a way to get Scott on the field and get the ball to him in space.  If they can use him in a Percy Harvin-esque manner that'll be exciting.

Also, Wilkinson, who has a 5th yr, is listed on the spring roster too.  They have crazy depth at WR.

[TailGate]

But, what does the depth look like on the line(s)...  ?

[Dr. Acula]

Well, that's certainly the million dollar question.  They have to, HAVE TO get much better play from the D line.  The O line I thought was serviceable by the end of the year, especially given Burke's ability to escape trouble.  They need to improve too if you're lining across from UWW, but it's the D line that needs significant improvement before you can even think about that.   

[HScoach]

Exactly.    Unless the D-line gets MUCH better, it won't matter who's on offense.

[jknezek]

Exactly.    Unless the D-line gets MUCH better, it won't matter who's on offense.

Probably matter all the way up to the semis or finals. I know by UMU's lofty standards that's not much consolation, but for the rest of the D3 universe....

[PurpleSuit]

You heard it here first, Roman Namdar is going to be a sensation for Mount Union this year.

This just made me think.

With Burke graduating after this year and Namdar sitting last year out, could Roman be the Starting QB in 2015?

Mount will have another dual-threat QB in camp this year with Evan Shimensky transferring from Kent this year.  Former All-Ohio QB at Kent Roosevelt had been moved to WR at Kent.  Was a playmaker in high school.

[bceagle80]

Well, that's certainly the million dollar question.  They have to, HAVE TO get much better play from the D line.  The O line I thought was serviceable by the end of the year, especially given Burke's ability to escape trouble.  They need to improve too if you're lining across from UWW, but it's the D line that needs significant improvement before you can even think about that.   

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

[02 Warhawk]

Well, that's certainly the million dollar question.  They have to, HAVE TO get much better play from the D line.  The O line I thought was serviceable by the end of the year, especially given Burke's ability to escape trouble.  They need to improve too if you're lining across from UWW, but it's the D line that needs significant improvement before you can even think about that.   

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

Seems like they lacked a little size on both of their lines.

[Dr. Acula]

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

This is based on my recollection and not on any deep analysis, but they were good against the run with the crown jewel being shutting down Brooks at Berg. What they came out of the gate and did in the first half to set the tone there was kind of stunning.  For us of a certain age it looked like Tecmo Bowl and VK kept guessing their play.  BUT, as good as they were against the run all year they did not seem to be able to stop NCC or UWW from running it when they needed to.

They never, IMO, seemed to get consistent pressure on the QB with their front 4.  The secondary took a lot of flack as they should have for being shredded a few times, but their guys up front did them no favors giving opposing QBs too long to sit and pick them apart.  In the past Mount always made a habit of forcing the action on passing downs trying to either get a sack or hopefully force an errant throw from pressure.  That aspect just seemed to be missing for the most part last year.

HScoach is probably the only one who saw every minute of every game so hopefully he can share his thoughts.

[bceagle80]

Well, that's certainly the million dollar question.  They have to, HAVE TO get much better play from the D line.  The O line I thought was serviceable by the end of the year, especially given Burke's ability to escape trouble.  They need to improve too if you're lining across from UWW, but it's the D line that needs significant improvement before you can even think about that.   

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

Seems like they lacked a little size on both of their lines.

As I said in an earlier comment, I believe they address the size issue. The key is to have big men who are strong, athletic, quick and can use their hands well on both sides of the line.

[bceagle80]

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

This is based on my recollection and not on any deep analysis, but they were good against the run with the crown jewel being shutting down Brooks at Berg. What they came out of the gate and did in the first half to set the tone there was kind of stunning.  For us of a certain age it looked like Tecmo Bowl and VK kept guessing their play.  BUT, as good as they were against the run all year they did not seem to be able to stop NCC or UWW from running it when they needed to.

They never, IMO, seemed to get consistent pressure on the QB with their front 4.  The secondary took a lot of flack as they should have for being shredded a few times, but their guys up front did them no favors giving opposing QBs too long to sit and pick them apart.  In the past Mount always made a habit of forcing the action on passing downs trying to either get a sack or hopefully force an errant throw from pressure.  That aspect just seemed to be missing for the most part last year.

HScoach is probably the only one who saw every minute of every game so hopefully he can share his thoughts.

Thanks for the comments, Dr. Acula. My thoughts on the sacks is that maybe it was not all the men upfront that had responsibility to get the sacks. I believe Lally and Fechko did there jobs well based on post season accolades. With the 4-2-5 defense, it is my understanding the DBs are very involved in run stopping as well as assisting in QB pressures. Blitzing is probably a key part of the 4-2-5 and I believe it is possible MU had challenges with successful blitzes due to the athleticism of the O-line at UW-W. Would that be true of NCC as well? I believe the d-line will need to be relentless, move with power and quickness and play low. The key with the pass rush is to collapse the pocket in such a way the it forces the QB to react when he is not ready to react and move him toward key defenders. Any thoughts, HScoach?

[emma17]

Well, that's certainly the million dollar question.  They have to, HAVE TO get much better play from the D line.  The O line I thought was serviceable by the end of the year, especially given Burke's ability to escape trouble.  They need to improve too if you're lining across from UWW, but it's the D line that needs significant improvement before you can even think about that.   

What were the main issues last year with the d-line? Was it against the run or the pass where they were mostly deficient against the top competition? Was loss of contain a problem? Pass coverage by defensive ends? Pass rush by the whole line. Were there serious deficiencies once the 2nd team came in?

Seems like they lacked a little size on both of their lines.

As I said in an earlier comment, I believe they address the size issue. The key is to have big men who are strong, athletic, quick and can use their hands well on both sides of the line.

I'm sure nearly every team at every level looks to bring in strong, fast, athletic, quick guys that can use their hands. No doubt Mt tries to do that every year. With some 200 guys on the roster, it's hard to believe Mt doesn't have above average D Line guys.
As I only saw Mt play NCC (snow bowl) and UWW - my opinion is limited. After watching the film many times- I remain surprised at the lack of adjustments made on the front. UWW made it clear pretty early on that Mt's D line wasn't going to win straight up. That D Line needed help from the LB's and DB's to cause chaos at the LOS and it rarely got any.

[HScoach]

In my less than humble opinion, the DE's were completely non-existent.   Fetchko was fine at DT and Lally OK too at DT, though I liked him more as a lean freshman DE than a bulky sophomore DT.   But the DE's brought nothing the entire season which eliminated rush lanes for the DT's.