FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

dirty and former; If you read my posts carefully, I didn't say it wasn't, explicitly or implicitly.

[formerbant10]

Frank, I did read your posts carefully.....just b/c I was an athlete at Trinity doesn't mean I can't read.  All Dirty and I are saying is that the Trinity D is very talented.  Dirty and I are clearly biased towards Trinity and have a good amount of information on the team.  We aren't overlooking anything that you said, explicitly or implicitly, we are just showing some love for out Bants. 

[union89]

Glad to finally see some banter here in the NESCAC board!!

I said this the past few years, (no one was on the board to read it though) Chuck Priore is the man!!  He was our O-Line coach and O-Coordinator at Union in the late 80's.  By far the best coach I ever had and a terrible mistake by the Dutchmen not pursuing him much more strongly. 

Lots of strong rumors that he will take over for Bagnoli at Penn in the next few years. 

More than team positional strengths, his recruiting and teaching ability has catapulted Trinity to a dominant position in the NESCAC.

[Jonny Utah]

and like coach welch at Ithaca, Priore is a big bob ford guy...

[frank uible]

Wasn't Bob Ford the guy who assassinated Jesse James while his back was turned?

[gordonmann]

The Trinity-Penn connection lives!!!

[formerbant10]

Gordon-- If you dig a lil deeper, I'm sure you can find some more Trinity-UPenn connections.  Especially with their athletes.

[dirtybirds8-0]

Defense wins championships!!  I am obviously very biased towards the defensive side of the ball, and while I agree that Priore is "The Man", Hankard (the now former d-coordinator) was probably one, if not the most inspirational leaders on and off the field as a coach.  His ability to motivate players to perform at their highest level has been a key factor for Trinity's success.  I wonder if his absence will effect the program at all?

[Trin9-0]

Dirty: I think the loss of Hankard as a the Trinity Defensive Coordinator would be huge if not for the experience returning to the Bantams defense. Also, Jeff Devaney has basically been a co-defensive coordinator the past few seasons and will do a tremendous job of preparing the Trinity defense to play (though he may not be the motivational leader Hankard was). As long as Priore can get some production from his O-line, the defense should cover-up any offensive miscues.


My 2005 NESCAC Projected Order of Finish[/color]


1. Trinity 8-0 : Dominating defense will make up for youth on the O-line.

2. Colby 7-1 : Stepka back AGAIN, along with solid D will suffer only a week 1 loss to Williams.
    Williams 7-1 : Still can't quite compete with Trinity, but a win over Amherst completes a great year.

4. Amherst 5-3 : The loss of Ladd, Mosley and Wagstaff is too much for defense to overcome.

5. Bowdoin 4-4 : Finally the Polar Bears take the next step up the NESCAC ladder.

6. Bates 3-5 : A strong showing for a team on the rise.
    Middlebury 3-5 : Without Keenan and Cleaver Panthers stumble to a losing record.

8. Hamilton 1-7 : Same old Continentals.
    Tufts 1-7 : Disapointing season for a program on the decline.
    Wesleyan 1-7 : Cardinals lucky to win a game.


Any thoughts?

(sorry I went a little overboard with the features)

[dirtybirds8-0]

Trin: I do have some issues with your pre-season poll.  Although I agree that Trinity will go 8-0, I believe there will be a two way tie for second with both Williams and Colby.  Amherst finishes 3rd, while Weslyan has another consistent season, Bowdoin steps up another notch, but the rest all finsih poorly.

Trinity   8-0
Williams 6-2
Colby 6-2
Amherst 5-3
Weslyan 4-4
Bowdoin 4-4
Tufts 3-5
Bates 2-6
Middlebury 2-6
Hamilton 0-8

[Jonny Utah]

Trinity
Williams
Bates
Amherst
Bowdoin
Colby
Middlebury
Wesleyan
Tufts
Conn College
Brandeis
Mt. Holyoke
Smith
Hamilton

[frank uible]

bomber: You forgot Vassar, Skidmore and Hampshire.

[Trin9-0]

Dirty: It seems to me the only difference between our picks is that you project a better season for Wesleyan. 

If you'll re-read my picks, I too believe there will be a two way tie for 2nd between Williams and Colby. 

You picked Amherst to finish 3rd, but also picked Trinity, Williams and Colby to finish ahead of them... which is it?

Also, the only thing consistant about Wesleyan is that they're consistantly bad.  They finished 3-5 last year with another close win against lowly Hamilton and a 4 point win over Bowdoin (which won't happen this year).


Bomber: Bates finishing ahead of Amherst? Colby finishing with the worst record in the BBC? Very bold predictions. Also, I know I picked Hamilton to go 1-7, but don't sleep on Brandon Holstag and Hamilton.  He's a good QB, who with some help, could pull an upset or two. Who knows, they might even beat New England Technical Institute.

[dirtybirds8-0]

Trin:  I have Tufts finishing higher in my pre-season poll.  I feel that they were very young last year and have some outstanding players on defense...some of which Trinity tried desperately to obtain.  Also, while I agree our order of finish is similar, I think the growing competition within the league will reflect in the records.  See you October 1st...for the showdown in the "Coop".

[Trin9-0]

Dirty: Looking forward to it... I'm actually going to the Trinity/Wesleyan scrimmage this weekend to get a look at that Bantam O-line and to get my NESCAC football fix.  Is anyone else going to catch any other NESCAC scrimmages? Amherst/Williams should be interesting.