FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[PurpleSuit]

For the Raiders the only questions are things like "Will all 4 QB's play?" and "Will Prendergast have more carries than Lattimore and Skilliter combined?" and "Will Nichols be the leading receiver?"

Over/Under on Burke passing attempts, 15?  Will Denton break the single season PR yard mark?  I think he needs about 70.  Minnich is my breakout pick for the week.  60-70 yards on a handful of carries.

[emma17]

What are the chances Seaman won't see any playing time at all going forward?
I give the kid a lot of credit if he is maintaining a positive attitude.

[raiderpa]

I wasn't sure if Seaman was even still with the team, however, I have never heard anything but the best said about him as a football player or a young man, and that he is the product of a wonderful family.   I wish him the best, he has given Mount his best, sacrificed his health for the team, and apparently never uttered a negative word. His injuries (rumors of a shoulder injury on throwing arm which took the sting out of the cannon) allowed others to overtake him.  THis is a sad fact and an unfortunate result of being involved in athletics.

[mr_mom]

For the Raiders the only questions are things like "Will all 4 QB's play?" and "Will Prendergast have more carries than Lattimore and Skilliter combined?" and "Will Nichols be the leading receiver?"

This illustrates one of the reason's the spread went to 64.5.  Hearing Mark on the broadcast explain that MUC would only be taking 60 players to Wilmington, and could not go three or four deep made me realize the score might creep up.

Although in the late 3rd and 4th quarters, I expect a number of 1st down field goal attempts and eventually some kneeling or running out of bounds.  The majority of the points would have to be in the first half.

Given that more folks are going with the underdog with points on the Pick-Em, it seems a modicum of success was attained.

[mr_mom]

Sad what our Mike Sirianni has to lead W&J through. 

I'm not a prayin' man, but my best wishes to him and the Presidents' family.

[Dr. Acula]

Awful.  Prayers for his family, friends and teammates.

[rscl70]

I wasn't sure if Seaman was even still with the team, however, I have never heard anything but the best said about him as a football player or a young man, and that he is the product of a wonderful family.   I wish him the best, he has given Mount his best, sacrificed his health for the team, and apparently never uttered a negative word. His injuries (rumors of a shoulder injury on throwing arm which took the sting out of the cannon) allowed others to overtake him.  THis is a sad fact and an unfortunate result of being involved in athletics.

There has been a #12 on the bench, but those who sit around me and claim to know, say it is not Seaman.  Is he injured? Has he walked away (I would not blame him)?  Has he said something that got him benched?  It would be good to know.  Neal's injuries have kept him from achieving his potential, and he deserves everyone's respect for the effort he has given.

[rscl70]

Sad what our Mike Sirianni has to lead W&J through. 

I'm not a prayin' man, but my best wishes to him and the Presidents' family.

These stories make one despair for the future of our society.  May Tim, and all the departed, through the grace of God, rest in peace.

[PurpleSuit]

All this talk about injuries being the reason Seaman is not a senior starting QB is a little old.  Seaman has had 3 years and was given every opportunity to be the #1 this summer.  He just is not one of the top two QB's at Mount this year. Burke is what Neal was hyped to be and Namdar shows far greater potential.  An injury took away his "cannon" and limited potential?  I see a noodle armed QB who probably reached his potential junior year of high school on a talented Louisville team.  I dont doubt Neal being a good kid, but not every local star is cut out to be a MUC QB.  Blindly giving credit is another issue from what I've heard.  Could be a nice kid, but is also the biggest recruit bust in recent memory

[rscl70]

All this talk about injuries being the reason Seaman is not a senior starting QB is a little old.  Seaman has had 3 years and was given every opportunity to be the #1 this summer.  He just is not one of the top two QB's at Mount this year. Burke is what Neal was hyped to be and Namdar shows far greater potential.  An injury took away his "cannon" and limited potential?  I see a noodle armed QB who probably reached his potential junior year of high school on a talented Louisville team.  I dont doubt Neal being a good kid, but not every local star is cut out to be a MUC QB.  Blindly giving credit is another issue from what I've heard.  Could be a nice kid, but is also the biggest recruit bust in recent memory

How kind of you.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

The only "knock" I ever heard on Seaman was that he wasn't a regular attendee at Summer Workouts and 7 on 7 Sessions.  I don't know if it was true or not, but I was kind of baffled as his hometown is 10 minutes away from campus.  It wasn't like he was going home to FL or NY for the summer.

This was a couple of years ago, I think about the time Piloto was earning his time with the team.

[skunks_sidekick]

Seaman had every chance to secure the starting spot once camp started.  From all reports, he played/practiced well, and the decision wasn't made to go with Burke until a few days before the Franklin game. 

I think if Neal would have remained healthy the last few years, things would have been dramatically different for Neal, and for Mount. 

Fortunately for Mount (and unfortunately for Seaman), the decision to go with Burke appears to be the correct one, but of course that litmus test won't come until the post-season, and maybe not until LATE in the post-season.  The minute that Burke agreed to attend Mount I became a huge fan.  What he did in the DI state title game as a senior was all I needed to see to know this kid is a smart, tough, winner.

[Raider 68]

Seaman had every chance to secure the starting spot once camp started.  From all reports, he played/practiced well, and the decision wasn't made to go with Burke until a few days before the Franklin game. 

I think if Neal would have remained healthy the last few years, things would have been dramatically different for Neal, and for Mount. 

Fortunately for Mount (and unfortunately for Seaman), the decision to go with Burke appears to be the correct one, but of course that litmus test won't come until the post-season, and maybe not until LATE in the post-season.  The minute that Burke agreed to attend Mount I became a huge fan.  What he did in the DI state title game as a senior was all I needed to see to know this kid is a smart, tough, winner.

skunks_sidekick,

Agree, IMHO, the Raiders with Burke are now in a position to solve the piece of the puzzle that
may have cost them the national title over the last 3 years. While each year is different, Burke
can bring that missing ingredient to the playoffs. The question remaining, is Mount a better team
now than they were in 2009-11 even with Cecil? I think so, but there are some key games in the
conference to be played before the playoffs develop. A team we all remember could stand in
the way and they upset the Raiders in the semi-finals 2004.We'll see!

[emma17]

All this talk about injuries being the reason Seaman is not a senior starting QB is a little old.  Seaman has had 3 years and was given every opportunity to be the #1 this summer.  He just is not one of the top two QB's at Mount this year. Burke is what Neal was hyped to be and Namdar shows far greater potential.  An injury took away his "cannon" and limited potential?  I see a noodle armed QB who probably reached his potential junior year of high school on a talented Louisville team.  I dont doubt Neal being a good kid, but not every local star is cut out to be a MUC QB.  Blindly giving credit is another issue from what I've heard.  Could be a nice kid, but is also the biggest recruit bust in recent memory

You can be one cold dude. 
The point is that it's got to be really hard on the kid- and it takes a special kid to handle it well.  Not because he deserves to start and isn't, but that he did the best he could, earned a starting spot for two years on a team with one of the greatest football traditions ever, and now rides the bench (assuming he's still on the team) his senior year with very little hope of seeing the field again. 

[HScoach]

Seaman had every chance to secure the starting spot once camp started.  From all reports, he played/practiced well, and the decision wasn't made to go with Burke until a few days before the Franklin game. 

I think if Neal would have remained healthy the last few years, things would have been dramatically different for Neal, and for Mount. 

Fortunately for Mount (and unfortunately for Seaman), the decision to go with Burke appears to be the correct one, but of course that litmus test won't come until the post-season, and maybe not until LATE in the post-season.  The minute that Burke agreed to attend Mount I became a huge fan.  What he did in the DI state title game as a senior was all I needed to see to know this kid is a smart, tough, winner.

skunks_sidekick,

Agree, IMHO, the Raiders with Burke are now in a position to solve the piece of the puzzle that
may have cost them the national title over the last 3 years. While each year is different, Burke
can bring that missing ingredient to the playoffs. The question remaining, is Mount a better team
now than they were in 2009-11 even with Cecil? I think so, but there are some key games in the
conference to be played before the playoffs develop. A team we all remember could stand in
the way and they upset the Raiders in the semi-finals 2004.We'll see!

Not to nit pick, but the '09 loss was not because of QB Kurt Rocco.  He played very well and was going to be the MVP if Mount would have pulled it out at the end.  Fumbles in the 4th quarter did them in.  Not the QB.

Conversely I would say QB was the primary reason Mount lost in '10 and '11.  The offense was very limited because of Piloto.  Would have been interesting to see if Seaman would have been able to win it.  I always wondered why LK chose Seaman over Piloto because Matt had the size and arm strength that Seaman lacked.  However after seeing the offensive play limitations under Piloto in the '11 season and what he turned into under pressure it was obvious to me why Seaman was starter.  Neal may have lacked the arm strength to stretch the field and make the 15 yard out a sure thing, but at least he wouldn't wet his pants if the defense got within 5 feet of him. 

I also have no doubt that Burke is already a better after 4 games than Seaman was ever going to be.  Whether that's because Neal never recovered from the HS knee injury (which is what I think), or whether he really wasn't as talented as LK and others thought (which I don't think because I saw a ton of his HS games and he was an athletic stud) we'll never know.   All I'm comfortable in saying is that I'm very happy Burke and Namdar are our QB's and that I feel bad for Seaman that he couldn't stay healthy enough to let his career play out based on his full ability.  Injury is an unfortunate part of the game, and he isn't the first nor last player that has had his career determined by the injury bug.