FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacparent]

Foote (Midd) has an extraordinary skill set level for the league.  In order to contain him the opposing team's D-line has to pressure him, preferably constantly. They do not need to sack him, just a constant pressure/threat. From my seat, it appears the only D-line that was able to accomplish that was Trinity. Speedy d-linemen should be able to get at Foote once past the line of scrimmage. Why this did not happen this season is curious. Is the Midd O-Line the class of the league?

[frank uible]

College defensive linemen of high pass rushing proficiency are of significantly  greater scarcity than college football players of high proficiency in general (not to address the relative plentitude of proficient O-linemen against whom D-linemen must directly compete).What is left of highly proficient D-line pass rushers after DIA, DIAA and DII skim the cream is not much.

[banfan]

Panthernation.  Thanks for your take.  I asked the question because I did not know the answer.  I asked it three times and yours is the first response that gave me some info that i could not dig up myself.

I hear you on the match up idea.  But if Midd was in that position late in the game against Hamilton and had to score 50 to win, I just think it drives home the point that Midd is a one dimensional team.  Not only on the pass vs run but on the offense vs defense.  It also  drives home the point that either Trin is the only balanced quality D in the conference or that the defenses in the CAC this year are not very good or both.

And nescacparent, the Midd o line is good but mostly at pass blocking.  Midd does not run the ball.  Also, from the shotgun or three step drop, which Midd does A LOT, the o line has to hold their blocks for 2-3 seconds.  The Midd team could not do that against Trinity because we pressured the qb but mostly because we covered their key receivers and because we hit their key receivers.  Has any other team in the conference made Driscoll pay for coming over the middle?  That's football.

[maineman]

Panthernation.  Thanks for your take.  I asked the question because I did not know the answer.  I asked it three times and yours is the first response that gave me some info that i could not dig up myself.

I hear you on the match up idea.  But if Midd was in that position late in the game against Hamilton and had to score 50 to win, I just think it drives home the point that Midd is a one dimensional team.  Not only on the pass vs run but on the offense vs defense.  It also  drives home the point that either Trin is the only balanced quality D in the conference or that the defenses in the CAC this year are not very good or both.

And nescacparent, the Midd o line is good but mostly at pass blocking.  Midd does not run the ball.  Also, from the shotgun or three step drop, which Midd does A LOT, the o line has to hold their blocks for 2-3 seconds.  The Midd team could not do that against Trinity because we pressured the qb but mostly because we covered their key receivers and because we hit their key receivers.  Has any other team in the conference made Driscoll pay for coming over the middle?  That's football.

You admit to not knowing the facts, but you went ahead and questioned the teams character anyway.  That's not right.  You should check the facts before you cast dispersions.

[banfan]

maineman, so what do you think about Midd?  What would you have concluded from 5 td's in the air and one on the ground by the starting QB, scoring 50+ points and all against a team that has one win.  Just curious.

I kinda wonder how they will approach Tufts at home?  Any thoughts on what we might expect?

What is your opinion on how Midd played in Hartford?

And, by the way, I am not challenging the team's character.  Kids do what they are told on a college football team.

[frank uible]

The question about what constitutes or does not constitute an ethical or other abuse with respect to running up the score is debated from time to time from various angles among coaches, including highly reputable ones, and there seems to be nothing close to unanimity on the subject.

[banfan]

Picks for final week:

Williams @ Amherst- Amherst because it is at home.  I think Williams is getting it together but Amherst is getting better as the season goes on.  Also, not that they need the $$$, Amherst can sell square yards of the field for use in your front yard.  6,000 square yards at $100 gets ya over half a million. Amherst 23-21

Hamilton @ Bates-  Bates is having a good year and will cap it at home with a solid win.  Hamilton is getting better and I hope they are signing some good kids who were rejected by Colgate.  Not rejected by the school but by the football team. Bates 35-14

Bowdoin @ Colby- Tough to call at Colby.  I think Bowdoin is the better team but Colby is up after Tufts on the road and it is for second place in Maine.  Really don't know.  Polar Bears 14-13

Tufts @ Middlebury-  Midd in a squeaker 62-14. JUST KIDDING!!!  Calm down!  It's a joke.  It will be one sided, however.  It will say something, at least to me, how Midd plays this game.  Tufts 14 Midd ?

Trinity @ Wesleyan-  Very tough game.  At Wes on grass with a lot at stake.  Wes can be the big time spoiler.  Can make big points with recruiting and alums.  It will make their season after losing to Williams.  Trinity has won the CAC but not outright.  They want that and an undefeated season.  Trin has the better team but these are kids and this will be their third BIG game in a row.  Trinity 27-13

[maineman]

maineman, so what do you think about Midd?  What would you have concluded from 5 td's in the air and one on the ground by the starting QB, scoring 50+ points and all against a team that has one win.  Just curious.

I kinda wonder how they will approach Tufts at home?  Any thoughts on what we might expect?

What is your opinion on how Midd played in Hartford?

And, by the way, I am not challenging the team's character.  Kids do what they are told on a college football team.

I guess I would have concluded nothing without knowing the facts as I concluded nothing when Trinity a won more lopsided contest 53-14 against a then winless Hamilton team.  If I really felt I needed to accuse a team of running it up or questioing their character, I would have reviewed the game video and the box score.  But you didn't.  Maybe you would have figured out that Midd featured some different receivers, too. A rarely used receiver, Minno, who had caught one pass all season ended up with 5 catches. 

I was at the game in Hartford and Midd played awful.  Trinity put on a clinic. More reason for you to not spew a venomous attack on them such has "how could Amherst lose to that team and I don't want Midd sharing anything."  All this without checking the facts.

I would imagine that Midd will play to win against Tufts on Saturday and if they do they will be the second best team in the NESCAC despite what you think.

And do check your orignal post since you did mention character.  I am sure you'll be here for two years more and then disappear.  I've been watching NESCAC athletics for over 40 years and will still be watching when you are gone.  With that perspective, I am sure you can see why I don't appreciate someone going negative without knowing the facts. 

[frank uible]

Due to some kind of glitch the old ouija board is down. It is expected that it will be up and running in time to produce forecasted NESCAC football scores by about 5pm on Saturday. We apologize for any inconvenience.

[banfan]

Maineman, I won't go the litany of errors in your post.  I never said that I didn't use the word used character.  But for you I clarified that it was not a reflection on the players.  I also said that Midd was better than that.  I am not so impressed with your coaching.  It was plain to see.

Yikes, if you think that was a venomous attack......

It is too bad that you are so defensive.  Maybe you could just post about football.

[maineman]

Maineman, I won't go the litany of errors in your post.  I never said that I didn't use the word used character.  But for you I clarified that it was not a reflection on the players.  I also said that Midd was better than that.  I am not so impressed with your coaching.  It was plain to see.

Yikes, if you think that was a venomous attack......

It is too bad that you are so defensive.  Maybe you could just post about football.

Hey Banfan, I don't have to get the last word.  I just believe that you should think before you post.  Goodbye!   You are right, Ritter did get outcoached, bigtime.

[gridiron]

Very impressed with the knowledge of those of you are able to speculate on the 2012 All Conference players.  I'm not qualified to refute any of the assertions.

At the risk of attracting too much attention to this week's picks, I was five for five last week...

Predictions for the final week of the 2012 NESCAC football season....

Tufts at Middlebury.  Unfortunate for the Jumbos, but they will not snap their winless streak until next season (hopefully).  Foote will add to his already impressive passing stats Saturday by throwing 55 times, yet again.  Middlebury is the number two team in the conference this season.

Bowdoin at Colby.  Young Colby will finish its season winning three of their final four games by taking a close one over rival Bowdoin.

Hamilton at Bates.  Resurging Bates won the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Championship last week, will beat Hamilton this week by 14 and will finish above .500 for the first time since 1981...think about how long ago that was...where you were back then?

Trinity at Wesleyan.  The very strong Bantams will finish the season the way they started with a convincing win against Wesleyan going undefeated and taking the NESCAC title in the process.  Wesleyan is not quite there yet--despite increased attention to football by the college administration.

Williams at Amherst.  Purple everywhere, but Amherst is the better team this season and will beat Williams by 10, finishing in third place.

[NESCAC JACK]

banfan, I've been reading your posts for some time now, and I'd like to add my voice to the chorus questioning your dour attitude. Your dislike of Middlebury is obvious, and your continual attacks on Coach Ritter and Coach Early, as well as McCallum Foote, the Middlebury offensive line, and the Middlebury defense are a bit perturbing. It almost makes one wonder where all the anger comes from...

We get it: Trinity beat Middlebury, and Trinity beat Middlebury soundly. It was clear to anyone in Hartford on October 27 Trinity was a far better team--on that field on that date. As has been repeatedly pointed out to you, one game is not the sole determinant of a football team's abilities, and Middlebury has repeatedly shown itself to be more able on other fields and other days.

Middlebury chooses a different method for winning football games than many others in the NESCAC, and one obviously very different from Trinity's. It's a method that relies heavily on throwing the football, and a method that asks its players to do different things than other teams demand. I'm not sure when throwing the football began to suggest a lack of character on the part of the playcallers, as the forward pass has been legal for over a century, but there's no arguing Middlebury has been pretty successful this year using this method. There's also no reason here to get into why a team like Trinity is able to dominate physically all over the field while Middlebury has to take to the air to win.

So it goes: different teams play to different strengths. It's one of the beauties of football, and it's fun to talk about. It's not much fun to read you tearing people down because of those strengths.

[JustAFan]

Off-topic post, but nevertheless germane, I believe, as we approach Saturday's Amherst/Williams game.

This will be a difficult homecoming for the Amherst administration given all that is going on at the college in light of the accusations of sexual assaults on campus, triggered by this harrowing letter to the editor of the Amherst Student last month written by a former Amherst student-athlete:   http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2012/10/17/account-sexual-assault-amherst-college.  The resulting tumult led the college to cancel classes last Friday for an all-college day of discussion, resulted in the dismissal of one administrator and has caused President Martin to devote most of the morning of the Williams/Amherst game to panel discussions with alums and students on the topic (see https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/sexual_respect).  A very difficult situation for all involved, exacerbated by the offensive behavior of an underground Amherst frat and the subsequent publication of a suicide note by a former Amherst student which also spoke about a sexual assault while an Amherst student. President Martin, to her credit, has met the issue head-on and, to this observer, demonstrated a lot of leadership. The Amherst Student website is replete with stories (see e.g. http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2012/10/31/administration-takes-sexual-misconduct-issues).

[PistachioX]

JustAFan... thanks for posting that series of articles.  I am left feeling sad, angry and dismayed. 

I come here mostly to read, and to better understand the goings-on in NESCAC football.  Unfortunately, this issue on college campuses is more widespread than the privilege that is Amherst... and I doubt the frenzy that it casued for Administrators over the past few weeks will adversely affect the outcome of the 127th installment of the Biggest Little Game in America.

FWIW...I'm going to share these articles with both my football playing son, and his college freshman sister.  Thank you~

Just a Mom