FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[FourMoreYears]

Also not sure what became of RB Trey Brown who returned to the team this year after injury.

It is my understanding that Trey Brown suffered yet another ACL injury in pre-season and will not be returning to football.
It's a real shame, as he is a quality young man and a good player. His career never got off the ground ...

[polbear73]

Also not sure what became of RB Trey Brown who returned to the team this year after injury.

It is my understanding that Trey Brown suffered yet another ACL injury in pre-season and will not be returning to football.
It's a real shame, as he is a quality young man and a good player. His career never got off the ground ...

Thank you for the information, FourMoreYears, as unfortunate and sad as it is.  I know that a lot of people, regardless of team affiliation, were rooting for him after reading the nothingbutnescac story about him. 

Still no word on Tyler Grant's absence on Saturday; hopefully it's nothing serious. 

[NewtoNescac]

Here goes nothing on the early picks for the coming weekend.

Tufts  34   Bowdoin  7
I think Tufts has learned how to beat the teams they should beat. And convincingly.

Bates  28   Williams. 10
Williams will not stop Bates' run option. Williams is beginning to look to next year with a new HC.

Trinity  17   Hamilton  10
Hamilton continues to play tough, but asking them to travel and win at Trinity is just too much. But they'll get a moral victory. The real win will come soon enough.

Colby  17   Wesleyan  14 in OT
If Colby's O can muster a couple of TD's, they win a close one. If the lack of scoring continues, look for Wes to win by 2-3 TD's.

Amherst  37   Middlebury  14
Middlebury is just not that good, and Amherst is too well balanced. Also, Amherst does a tremendous job of coaching. GOTW is a bit of a let down.

NewtoNescac....can you please give me Wesleyan +3? Name the bet, I'll give you the action.

Nescacman - This was one of the few games I got close to calling in the first 3 weeks. Wrong, but close.

Wait until you see my picks for the coming week. I think you're going to want to bet the house.

[RetiredMule]

Intro: A Cultural Spinning Wheel
Stick with me if you will while I explore the case I am about to put forth.  Obviously as a Colby football fan, I hope to see the best and undeniable success for my team. And I fear this has not been the case.  The team has been struggling, and I believe the problem to be endemic.  I believe that now is the time to seriously consider a coaching overhaul within the Colby football community.

A History Lesson
As some of you may remember, Michaeles became the head coach in 2012 following the resignation of Ed Mestieri at the end of the 2011 season.  Michaeles came to the school in 2003 as an offensive coordinator under then new head coach Mestieri.  Mestieri had become head coach after being the offensive coordinator under the previous, long-tenured head coach Tom Austin.  So to sum up head coach goes Tom Austin -> Ed Mestieri (2003) -> Jonathan Michaeles (2012).  The offensive coordinator position goes Ed Mestieri -> Jonathan Michaeles (2003) -> Steve Opgenorth (2012) -> Steve Fogherty (2014) -> Jonathan Michaeles (2015).  For this discussion, it will also be important to note that Michaeles was the recruiting coordinator before his time as HC.

The Record Speaks for Itself
Let's look at the record over time. Since taking over as head coach, Michaeles has produced a 9-18, a .333 win percentage.  Mestieri's reign produced an even 36-36 record, a .500 record.  Pretty underwhelming, huh?  Let's make the picture a little more depressed.  Take out the first 3 years of Mestieri's time, arguably still heavily influenced by Austin's time at the school.  During this time, Colby went 18-6 winning the CBB all three years and placing second in the league twice.  After that? 18 wins again and 30 losses in the following 6 years with no season over .500.  And no more CBBs.  No more top of the league records.  From 2006 to 2011 and 2012 to 2015, .375 and .333 win percentages respectively.  Michaeles has 3 road wins in as many years.  These numbers are tough to swallow.

Spinning your Tires
Ever seen a car with its drive wheels stuck in mud, spinning furiously, but moving nowhere.  At what point do the fans or other figures begin seeing this as a "stuck in the mud" cycle?  It may be time to view this situation as such.  Colby's past head coaches have been internal hires.  This means a sense of stability and a continuation of culture.  It feels good.  It's comfortable.  When does the state of comfort become complacency?  I fear that this culture may have reached a point of complacency that needs to be shaken up. 

Within the Walls
There is always the question in these discussions of what it is like within the program.  Do the players love him?  What's the admission situation?  Recruiting?  The players do love Michaeles.  He is a good person who wants the best for every member of the team. This is an important factor to consider, but it may simply be a road block to consider, as tough as that is to say.  The Admissions department has been fairly strict within the Colby community with regards to football.  This is a direct repercussion of the incident in 2011 that deserves no further mention.  Admissions began enforcing high standards and allowing less "help" than in the past as a result.  This has definitely played a factor, but cannot be blamed for everything.  In terms of recruiting, Colby has been hampered by turnover within the coaching ranks.  This season alone there are 3 new coaches on staff.  There have been 3 different OCs in 4 years.  These inconsistencies do not help the program.

Is There Ability to Change?
The new president, David Greene, asked for the resignation of the old AD within months of arriving on campus.  He and the new AD Tim Wheaton, the man partially responsible for the resurgence of Harvard's athletics, want to win and be successful.  The football program has not been successful of late.  This puts the program in a tough position.  Do they begin to wind back some of the tougher admissions standards in an effort to allow more talented players in?  We have seen this work at other schools, namely Wesleyan.  On the other hand, Michaeles is very tied into the Colby community.  He has been on campus for over a decade.  He has been vocal about the football team's community outreach.  His wife is the head women's hockey coach.  All of these factors make it more difficult.

Conclusion
Other programs in our league have seen success in recent years with shake ups in the coaching ranks.  When can it be Colby's turn?  Sometimes, I fear that Colby may be stuck in a rut due to continuations of the same culture.  The same cultures that has not one our mini-championship since 2005 and has not won the big championship since 2000.  After 15+ years of the same culture, perhaps it is time to look outside for a change.  Perhaps it is time to shake the program to its foundation to see if we can wake it from its slumber of sub-.500 seasons.  I will continue to support Coach Michaeles to the fullest.  He is a good person.  But it is just one fan's opinion that Colby may be due for some outside influences.  Perhaps, Colby football needs a change. 

[NewtoNescac]

RetiredMule - You did a great job of articulating what are obviously heartfelt concerns for Colby Football. You did so without being at all mean sprinted, which is great. Coach Michaeles is a really decent man, as you thoughtfully point out. He may be too nice a guy. That is a talented Colby team that has not been far from winning the past two seasons. I would hate to see him go, but he has to start producing. And not just a few wins against the lower teams. I'm hoping he does. Change is needed on the field, and in the play calling if they expect to salvage the season. And, it starts with Amherst on Saturday. They need this win. Again, nice job.

[lumbercat]

Anyone have a clue why Saturdays Tufts- Bowdoin game program shows a Tufts  roster of 96 players....A typo, in week 3, in their own home program?

[PolarCat]

Interesting.  Maybe they wanted to recognize the kids who are gray shirted?

If my math is correct, they are showing 78 players on their website roster, which you'd think would be "official".  Even that is over the limit.

[NewtoNescac]

Maybe they're using Common Core's new math.

[JEFFFAN]

Very interesting and insightful analysis, RetiredMule.  A few comments/questions.  First, how much does the Colby administration and alumni base care about football?  The fact that it is important to you and perhaps your friends might not equate to a similar interest on the part of the school.   This is especially true for football, which requires such a large commitment of student-athletes.   Easier to be good at smaller roster sports.   Second, in the process of getting better would Colby be willing to take more chances in admissions?   It is hard to build without a commitment or four outside of normal admissions boundaries.   Third, is there an alumn willing to "pay up" to get the attention of the administration.  You know, money talks, the other stuff walks!

Good analysis .... very interesting.

[lumbercat]

PC-
I didn't check the website- but they essentially published a roster which included  20 guys they cut, it didn't look right. I viewed it another way....my thought was
they published their cuts.

Official Nesacac roster limit is 76- I beleive....

Pat Coleman- can they grey shirt 20 kids?

[NewtoNescac]

Jefffan - Colby has great fan support, including  parental support.

I don't know the specifics on admissions, but I don't perceive that as a problem.

The President is a "football guy" and is at every home game. I think he has a child playing youth football, as well. The AD not only goes to all home games, but he traveled to Wesleyan. He was doing anything he could to get the Colby fans on their feet cheering. So the President and AD are true assets, and genuine supporters of the program.

[hamgrand]

Does anyone have any details about the arrangement with Nescac Football and the NSN Northeast Sports Network?

I know you can watch games through live video feed.  (Like a previous poster, I did watch some games on my I-phone this weekend.) But there appears no way to watch the games after the fact.  I did search the archives and you can watch all kinds of past contests for other NESCAC sports, but nothing much for football.  Why is that?

Interestingly enough, if you search the archives, you can find the Bates vs Williams game and the Hamilton vs Wesleyan game available,  But no other football games are archived.  Why would these two games be archived and nothing else?  I also clicked on the DVD store, and you can purchase a DVD from a prior game in most any other sport, but football is not available.  I think I might call the 800 number tomorrow and get the scoop.  In the meantime, anyone have any insight on this?

I would love to be able to watch some of the games after the fact.  I would also like to see the Middlebury vs Amherst game again.  This would be a great service I know many of us would enjoy.

[hamgrand]

Just a quick update.  Looks like they added a few more games to the NSN DVD store list. After a quick search I have found:
Trinity vs Hamilton
Colby vs Wesleyan
Williams vs Trinity
Bates vs Williams
Hamilton vs Wesleyan

but no Middlebury, Amherst or Tufts games.

[PolarCat]

While I was at Bates Williams, we had family watch online, and it sounds like the broadcast was a cluster.  Awful commentators, frequent drops in the transmission, etc.  If they're selling DVD's, I hope they offer a money back guarantee.

[Pat Coleman]

PC-
I didn't check the website- but they essentially published a roster which included  20 guys they cut, it didn't look right. I viewed it another way....my thought was
they published their cuts.

Official Nesacac roster limit is 76- I beleive....

Pat Coleman- can they grey shirt 20 kids?

I mean -- I guess they could. Those are kids who aren't even in the program so in essence they are greyshirting a thousand kids, right? Nothing in the NCAA rules covers that. Not sure about whether the NESCAC has decided to regulate that itself as of yet.