FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

PATRIOTS, CAROLINA, and WESLEYAN FOOTBALL:

Anyone watch the Monday Night Preview minutes ago on ESPN (located by the way 15 mins from the best football program in the land).......there was a feature on Amanda Belichick that featured "In Bill We Trust" and Coach Whalen........

The FC's are going national. We may need to play The Lord Jeffrey game at Gillette next year. 

Thanks for acknowledging the close proximity of Bristol to Hartford 

[Trin9-0]

A "little birdie" tells me that Ritter, NOT Whalen will be named NESCAC Coach of the Year.

Talk about a snub! I guess the rest of the coaches in the league don't have the same reverence for Mike Whalen that the "mafia" does.

Still getting stories about unfortunate behavior from Wes, both pre and post game. Cardinal players yelling into the Trin locker room "Wake up Trinity, your daddy is here!" etc, etc. Remember, trash-talking is all well and good... when you win.

Also, following the Trin-Wes game, I personally witnessed Whalen chase down a former teammate and tell him "You were a  f*#^ing punk when you played and you're still a f*#^ing punk." To be fair, the guy is kind of a punk and he was heckling Whalen for much of the fourth quarter. Still, you'd expect more from the head coach of a program than to initiate a verbal altercation after a game.

Finally, my last dig at WesTech for the day (probably). Does this self-admitted NESCAC roster violation mean the Cardinals should vacate their 7 wins this season?!?
http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/roster/index.html

76 players! Alert the NESCAC Presidents! VIOLATION! VIOLATION! 

[FightingCards]

Mr. Trin 8-0

Coach Ritter has done an outstanding job at Middlebury.  He has gone 14-2 in the last 2 years and is very deserving of this award.  In fact he has beaten every team in the league the last 2 years except for Wesleyan.  Under the Whalen regime, Coach Ritter is 1-1 against 2 average to poor FC squads.  So, before we name him "Red Auerbach", let's see what happens on opening day next year in Vermont....should be a good one.

I do feel bad for you and the Bantams that you finished 6-2.  You are not part of the Little 3 or the C-B-B.  Trinity realistically has the best talent in the league year in and year out but struggles to win big games on the road.  Perhaps you should start the "T-H-T" and dominate each year versus the Medford/Clinton folks.  And if you beat Tufts, I'll personally send you "T-H-T" Championship shirts prior to playing Hamilton!

You may or may not like me....I certainly haven't earned a karma point yet....and I don't have any "karma goals yet" for myself....but I do tell the truth.  Your stories are wrong about the FC players' behavior....you should have a sit down with your sources...

Here's my favorite one because I was there too.  Your former teammate was the guy doing the "W-H-A-L-E-N" chant for the last 5 mins of the game.  Coach Whalen walked over to him and said, "Congratulations...you have been calling my name for the last 5 minutes so you must want to talk to me".  The guy had nothing to say.  Coach Whalen shook his hand and left as the guy was escorted out off the field by security....

And finally, like many other teams, Wesleyan takes the team photo early so it can make the game program...and yes there were more than 75 players in that photo.  In Hartford, we had 75 or less.  The Whalen Mafia can send you some game film and you can count all the players on the Wesleyan sideline.  it would be a nice family activity.....

And I did LOL on your comment on Hartford being 15 mins from Bristol....that was a good one...out

[amh63]

Trinity8 -0...had seen the roster 76 number "proudly " featured in the roster site in the pre- season.  Initially thought that it was a challenge to the conference rules.  Coach Whalen is bold, but not stupid. Forgot the number at the start of the season and put it in the no issue bin.
Looking over the roster again after the season started and the posting of Tufts...aka..ALDavis , or vice versa, I noticed a player listed that had no class designation...not even a G..for grad.  Thought came up that it was the recognition of a 76  honorary player...and that Wes got permission for the 76 headline in bold print..so to speak.   
It should be noted that Coach Mills noted a senior player that was not on the roster due to injury early in the season.  Not dressed, the former team member was on the sidelines, etc.

[Trin9-0]

Only teasing, of course, regarding the 75 player limit. Each team is allowed one injured player to be the 76th man on the roster.

We Bantams have no need for "championships" decided among two other competitors. Rather, we focus on undefeated seasons, and NESCAC championships. Perhaps that's why Trinity has more of both than any other league school.

For what it's worth, the Bantams have beaten two of your little three every year since 2002 (sweeping the triumvirate six times) and haven't lost to a team from the great state of Maine since 1998.

I like you just fine, FC, however we have very different versions of what we saw from Whalen following the Trin-Wes game.

AmherstStudent05 & NESCAC JACK, sorry to offend. While the humor is undeniable I will concede that it's a bit harsh to attack a DIII women's lacrosse coach. I'll remove the post and in it's place provide this shot of mighty Wes alum, Bill decked out in Trin garb!

[AlDavis]

...Ok , Ok....the Hand of God was Strict and Swift last night and God is a Human and resides in Jamaica , trust me on Dat!!!..........Life is Numbers and Life as in Sports is Drama and when you take the Drama out of the equation , it always comes down to numbers as numbers are pure and don't lie , never have and never will.......I see Amhurt63 used my name today and just making sure you still Know that I am the Smartest Guy in Every Room including every room of your Mini-Mansion in the DC area.......so for today , for everyone this song is for you or might be against you so please enjoy----------------------->   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aF9AJm0RFc

[Trin9-0]

All NESCAC selections are out:

http://www.nescac.com/sports/fball/2013-14/honors/allconference

Foote, Middlebury Offensive Player of the Year
Cleary, Bowdoin Defensive Player of the Year
Puzzo, Trinity Rookie of the Year
Ritter, Middlebury Coach of the Year

[nescac1]

A few final thoughts on the year from a Williams perspective.

First, I think folks speculating about an affirmative action hire on this board should just go away.  Not appropriate in the least, and also by the way not at all informed about how the actual hiring process that resulted in the Kelton hire transpired.  That is all I will say on that.  Regarding the debate about where blame lies for Williams' predicament, I fall somewhere in the middle --I have not been terribly impressed by the Ephs' level of preparation, nor their offensive strategy, and I do think some blame lies with the coaches.  There is also plenty of blame to go around to both coaches and admissions regarding recruiting.  Yes, Williams is more constrained on that front than any other NESCAC school.  They are never going to be able to bring in the same types of recruits as Trinity, and now Wesleyan.  But, it also should be a pretty easy sell between the new facility coming on line and the incredible football tradition, level of support from community for athletics in general and football in particular, the great Little 3 rivalry, and of course top-notch academics.  And there is no doubt that in addition to being constrained by admissions more and more over time (and certainly since Parker left), Williams needs to do a better job within the constrains it has, because the Ephs have lost some guys to other NESCAC schools that they never lost in the past.  Look at Coach Maker in basketball, who operates under even tougher constrains, yet manages to bring in elite talent from around the country with a LOT of hard work.  There is simply no excuse for bringing in ZERO impact players at either the RB or QB position for two consecutive years (four consecutive years at QB).  At some point, the guys are out there, and the coaches need to be better at finding talent and bringing guys to Williams within the very difficult recruiting constraints in place, because I don't see admissions anytime in the near future giving, as Frank notes, the extra 300 SAT points combined it would take to bring in two elite player per year as a matter of course.  Just not gonna happen.

Williams is not likely going to be an 8-0 team anytime soon. But the Ephs should be able to be a LOT more competitive than they were this season, in the 4-4 to 7-1 range each year.  I hope some changes are made to personnel or philosophy to enable that to happen.

Looking at the all-conference team is instructive.  Has there EVER been a year where not a single senior from Williams was recognized?  That is the current coaching staff's first recruiting class.  On the bright side, three Williams underclassmen (deservedly) earned all-NESCAC honors, and several more return with the ability to join that group (Sime, Way, Datema in particular).  With hard work in the off-season there is no reason that a much more veteran offensive line (every single guy returns) won't be a LOT more effective.  The Williams defense played very well in the second half of the season and led by Howe should be one of the better defensive squads in the conference, as almost all the key players return on that side of the ball.  But, Williams still has no solution at QB, and the RB situation looks pretty dire for next year too.  They need to bring in ELITE players at both positions, who can make an immediate impact, or else the Ephs will be headed for another few season of mediocrity-or-worse.  There is talent across the board at other positions, but the Ephs need some big-time offensive playmakers at the key positions to become more competitive, as well as far more creative and aggressive offensive play-calling. 

[AlDavis]

...when it come to talking sum football here.... I agree 100 Karma Points that Thy Williams need to loosen up some sum SAT Bihhh points and tighten up on the local Meth Labs in and around that Williams and the Local Walking Dead cast members.

[frank uible]

As admirable in general human terms as Williams football players have been, are and likely will continue to be, hugging one another, chanting WE ARE WILLIAMS, being arrogant about academic reputation, tweeking on-field tactics and trying just a teeny bit harder are not alone going to get Williams to 6-2. By any chance has someone on this board said earlier, "it ain't the X's and O's, it's the Jimmys and Joes"?

[AlDavis]

....yes you do and did.....and you have Karma Points coming out yo pores and all openings.....and now those that know me , like me and know I don't pass judgement on others , but I don't Smoke Crack and do Brush my teethes 5 times a day for good breadth.

[amh63]

AlDavis....you and Frank U. are two posters that have provided me new lexicons of sorts....as I spend much too much time "translating" your posts.  In any case, I will give you both a plus Karma point now.  AlDavis, I want you to know that this is the only time I have messed with your Karma numbers.
Somewhere I read that education is a lifetime journey of sorts....and I did not get that from a Fortune Cookie of which I consume much too many

[AlDavis]

....well I appreciate that nice gesture Amh63 and thank you.....and Education is the most important thing here when talking Great Football and Great Student - Athletes and so forth that is the NESCAC.........but Snobby Admission Discussions does bore me as in some Rare Cases a 250,000 Dollar Education could have been gotten in 20 Dollars in late fees from the Library as quoted by my buddy Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting......and to know officially now that you are not a Main Suspect in my Negative Karma Point Ratio shows that I passed wrong judgement and one must always have their head on a swivel for assassins and haters as don't be mistaken we are all surrounded by them as Nothing Succeeds Like Success to keep them at bay and on the farm.

[frank uible]

To paraphrase Kipling, "Al has his style; your correspondent has one of his own; and never the twain shall meet".

[AlDavis]

....And to Paraphrase Steinbeck's East of Eden , which is truly a MOFOing EPIC Book of profound epicness and a Book about us all , I will use the word  Timshel on yee thee Littlest 3....The word Timshel which is man's ability to choose between Good and Evil.  ....I would Timshel yo arse much phaster than you would Non- Twain my arse in any way shape or form on everything all the time , Full Court Press yo arse "40 Minutes of Hell" Nolan Richardson Arkansas Razorback Style.  ...You Hear Me as I Speak AlDavis to you.