FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Wesleyan 200
Bates 100
Colby 100
Trinity 100
Amherst 100

I am no Bowdoin apologist but I have a pretty good handle on their QB- he is a big tough physical QB who plays hard every play (he is better suited for the Bates offense)
He struggles a bit with the passing game but is capable of making throws- good arm strength but has occasional  accuracy issues. I believe he is a captain and leader on that team and bet that he comes out with a fine effort against the Purple this weekend at home. If I'm coaching the PBears I would have virtually no thought of benching this kid if he was my son or my worst enemy. Geez, give the kid a chance, he's on the road at Williams against one of the best D's in the league and the Ephs are christening their new stadium. Caputi was the not issue, it was a lousy team effort on the road by the Black and White.

Bowdoin natural turf will be soft and slow which may favor the Bears.

A telling number that I look at every year is what I call program turnover- Excluding graduating seniors, I look at the number of  players form prior year rosters who do not return. This category obviously encompasses players who quit the team, left school or were injured. The biggest component of this number is those who quit the team. When I look at this relative to the recent struggles within the Bowdoin I come up with some interesting data.

There is a very interesting comparison between Bates, Bowdoin and Colby.

Bates has a very low number of non returners in recent years and are typically on the low side in terms of players leaving the program. Coach Harriman seems to do a fine job recruiting the right kids and keeping them in the program.  Colby is generally next and Bowdoin seems to lose a greater number of non seniors each year.

This year Bates has 6 non returners and sadly one is their great linebacker John Durkin who tragically was killed in Italy this past winter.

Bowdoin and Colby both have 13 non returners  but the players lost at Colby with the exception of Ciero, were non contributors to the Mule program last year.

The Bowdoin non returners include some starters and prominent contributors from last year and several promising members of the class of 2016 or 2017 who were prized recruits.

Its obviously tough to keep things afloat when you are losing but this attrition seems to be taking its toll on the Bowdoin program.

[P'bearfan]

I am no Bowdoin apologist but I have a pretty good handle on their QB- he is a big tough physical QB who plays hard every play (he is better suited for the Bates offense)
He struggles a bit with the passing game but is capable of making throws- good arm strength but has occasional  accuracy issues. I believe he is a captain and leader on that team and bet that he comes out with a fine effort against the Purple this weekend at home. If I'm coaching the PBears I would have virtually no thought of benching this kid if he was my son or my worst enemy. Geez, give the kid a chance, he's on the road at Williams against one of the best D's in the league and the Ephs are christening their new stadium. Caputi was the not issue, it was a lousy team effort on the road by the Black and White.

Lumbercat - don't disagree with you regarding QB Caputi's effort.  However, last year he completed ~50% of his passes and he performed the same last weekend.  A key issue for the P'bears is a lack of downfield passing threat which is directly related to the QB's accuracy issues.  I have no question regarding QB Caputi's toughness, leadership or effort. 

If he's not well suited to the offense that Bowdoin is running then that would seem to be a coaching issue (i.e. modify the offense to suite the players you have).  If the players aren't performing in the offense you're calling - which was definitely the case last weekend until 3:30 left in the 4th - then the coach should change the personnel.

[PolarCat]

I am no Bowdoin apologist but I have a pretty good handle on their QB- he is a big tough physical QB who plays hard every play (he is better suited for the Bates offense)  He struggles a bit with the passing game but is capable of making throws- good arm strength but has occasional  accuracy issues. I believe he is a captain and leader on that team and bet that he comes out with a fine effort against the Purple this weekend at home. If I'm coaching the PBears I would have virtually no thought of benching this kid if he was my son or my worst enemy. Geez, give the kid a chance, he's on the road at Williams against one of the best D's in the league and the Ephs are christening their new stadium. Caputi was the not issue, it was a lousy team effort on the road by the Black and White.

For what it's worth, Mac Caputi is a GREAT kid, who has spent his past two summers in the USMC, and will be commissioned into the Corps upon graduation.  You can critique his arm and how well he fits with the offensive scheme, but you can't question his drive, determination or leadership.  I might not choose him for QB on my fantasy team, but if my son was a Marine rifleman, I would have no qualms about having Mac lead him.  The P'Bears may struggle this year (and that was a fascinating stat about the losses from the program), but there are other causes besides the QB.

[lumbercat]

PBear-
I understand your loyalty and commitment to Bowdoin athletics but why jump on QB Caputi and start stirring up all these controversies with the coach, father-son thing. I really love your passion but this kid is coming off one of the best wins in the history of Bowdoin football last year in the last game against Colby. His next game as a senior Captain is on the road at Williams and he has a sub par game amidst a poor team effort and you want to yank the kid ? .....c'mon P Bear Fan this isn't a D1 situation.

I admire your passion and commitment to Bowdoin and D3 athletics. I appreciate your great contributions to the NESCAC basketball board but don't lose sight of the fact that this is D3 and often your expectations will not be met.

I wish the Bears good luck tomorrow in Brunswick.....at Whittier. who knows, maybe the ghosts that robbed Colby last year will rise again.   

[Nescacman]

PBear-
I understand your loyalty and commitment to Bowdoin athletics but why jump on QB Caputi and start stirring up all these controversies with the coach, father-son thing. I really love your passion but this kid is coming off one of the best wins in the history of Bowdoin football last year in the last game against Colby. His next game as a senior Captain is on the road at Williams and he has a sub par game amidst a poor team effort and you want to yank the kid ? .....c'mon P Bear Fan this isn't a D1 situation.

I admire your passion and commitment to Bowdoin and D3 athletics. I appreciate your great contributions to the NESCAC basketball board but don't lose sight of the fact that this is D3 and often your expectations will not be met.

I wish the Bears good luck tomorrow in Brunswick.....at Whittier. who knows, maybe the ghostos that robbed Colby last year will ris
e again.

This may be D3 and we aren't talking about Florida State or Alabama here, but that doesn't mean the student-athletes and coaches in the NESCAC don't want to win as much as their D1 brethren. It is the coaches job to recruit and put the best 22 players on the field to give his team the best chance to win. If the coach isn't doing that, he should be replaced.

As far as the Bowdoin QB is concerned, he may be the best kid in the world. Smart, a leader off the field, etc. As a football player, he just doesn't cut it. Has anyone seen him play other than me and possibly P'Bear? He can't run, he consistently misses his receivers (throwing behind, under throwing them, and overthrowing them), and generally makes bad decisions. Now he may be the best Bowdoin has, but who's fault is that? Bowdoin will not win until they are able to get a player at this position. Case closed. And by the way, we have been talking about this since early last season so this isn't a new idea. He will have a tough day against a very good Amherst secondary. Over/under on Caputi INTs...2.

[P'bearfan]

 A couple of thoughts:

First - thanks for Lumbercat for giving me a reality check on the D1 vs D3 perspective.  I didn't realize that I was coming across that way and that wasn't my intention.  D3 and especially NESCAC sports, are something special because these are real student athletes and many of them are great kids.  I need to keep that perspective regarding their performance on field or court.

Second - I don't know QB Caputi and have no doubt that he's a terrific young man and leader.  From everything written here, he's they type of student athlete that all NESCAC fans should be proud of.  As I explained in my last post and I don't doubt his work effort or that he earned the spot to start against Williams - and even today against Amherst.

Third - I agree that there are no shortage of areas for improvement P'bears on the field.  Penalties, missed assignments on defense etc.  My own perspective is that it will be very difficult for Bowdoin to win unless they establish a running game which won't happen until opponents are forced to defend a downfield passing threat.   

Hopefully the P'bears can come out today and put together a strong performance against Amherst.  I hope the entire team,  has a great game, including QB Caputi.  However, if the offense stalls, I hope the coaches give the back ups a shot even if its late just late in the game.

[P'bearfan]

Halftime in Brunswick and Amherst leads Bowdoin: 9-0.

Amherst hampered itself with several offensive penalties, a missed PAT and a key turnover otherwise their lead could be larger. 

Caputi started at QB and had trouble moving the Bowdoin offense on the first few series.  He threw some good screen passes but one ill advised downfield throw into double coverage for a pic.  He seemed to get into a rhythm early in the second quarter though.

Tim Drakeley came into the game at QB mid-way through the second quarter and played three series.  The Bowdoin offense found a rhythm especially on the third series after Bowdoin recovered an Amherst fumble in Amherst territory.   Drakeley marched Bowdoin down the field toward the end zone.  The P'bears were on the 1 yard line with time running out when Drakeley fumbled the ball after a big hit at the 1/2 yd line. 

For the first half:
Captui: 4-7 passing for 13 yards and INT; 5 yards rushing on 3 attempts
Drakeley:  7-10 passing for 49 yards; 2 yards rushing on 5 attempts and 1 fumble

[amh63]

Amherst wins in Maine...30-7....over the Polar Bears.  Amherst shuttles their young QBs and breaks the game in the 3rd quarter with big plays and fine defense...scoring 21 points....score 30-0.  Bowdoin finally scores their first TD of the young season on a Caputi one yard run.....with less than 45 seconds left in the game.  The bend but don't break was key for the Amherst defense.  In the 4th quarter Amherst played their less experienced defensive players for at least half of the quarter.  Four running backs got into the game for Amherst.
Oh yes, it was the warmest day for a Bowdoin home football game in history...reached 77 plus degrees!.

[P'bearfan]

Tough 3rd quarter for Bowdoin as Amherst scores 21 points in the quarter to beat Bowdoin 30 - 7.

Early in the 3rd with the Lord Jeffs leading 9-0, Bowdoin had Amherst pinned on the LJ's own 2 yard line.  After what appeared to be a safety, Amherst faced 3rd down and 11.  Amherst made a truly gutsy call and connected on a deep pass for a back-breaking TD. 

In the next series Caputi threw his second INT deep in Bowdoin territory.  Amherst capitalized for its second touchdown in less than 1 minute.  That basically finished the P'bears.

Bowdoin shuttled QB's in the second half with Drakeley starting the second half and Caputi coming in on the P'bears second possession.  After the INT Drakeley played the remainder of the 3rd quarter and most of the 4th.  Caputi returned late in the 4th and moved the Bowdoin offense down the field efficiently for it's first TD of the year.

Final stats for the Bowdoin QB's

Caputi:  14-21 for 102 yards passing, 2 INT; 6 yards rushing on 4 attempts
Drakeley:  13-24 for 96 yards passing 0 INT; 13 yards rushing on 8 attempts; 1 fumble


On the positive side, Bowdoin looked much better this week than last.  However, they need to avoid penalties and prevent the big plays.  It will also be interesting to see how they approach the offense next week.  Caputi's numbers wound up slightly better than Drakeley's but many of his completions and yards came at the end of the game.  Drakeley was poised, generally made good reads and moved the offense well.   This could be a tough decision for the coaching staff.

[mariner75]

Tufts beats Bates like they always diid once upon a time (4 long years ago). Should beat Bowdoin next week and then finish 3-5 after facing the big boys. Maybe.

[PolarCat]

It was a painful - and HOT - afternoon in Medford for my 'Cats.  My take a ways:

1. The Jumbos are a surprisingly good team. At least they were today in front of their Homecoming Day crowd.  Fast, disciplined and consistent .  The only weakness I could see was their secondary.


2. Doll is an outstanding QB.  Runs the offense beautifully, gets his quick release passes off accurately, scrambles well, finds. The open receiver, and doesn't make mistakes.  He was let down a couple of times by his receivers, but he could play DI, and maybe at the next level.

3.  Turns out Cannone is also a great passer.  Who knew? 

4.  The best work of the day came from the Tufts OC, who did an awesome job mixing up plays, and keeping the Bobcats guessing.  Really outstanding game plan, and beautifully executed.  Bates was just the opposite: totally predictable running plays, then Cannone forced to pass on third and long.

5. Another pleasant surprise: the Tufts Band.  Kept the throngs of Jumbo fans revved up, and felt like a DI atmosphere.

6. At the other end of the scale, Tufts pulled one of the most Bush league stunts ever.  Between the first and second quarters, they called a 5 minute break so the Tufts lacrosse team could be recognized. Seriously?  Took all the momentum out of the drive Bates was mounting at the time.  Why couldn't they have done this at half time instead of disrupting the rhythm of the game?  Come on Jumbos, act like you've been there.

I will be surprised if Tufts doesn't notch up some more upset victories this year.

[mullethead]

tick tock. The Kelton countdown begins.

[mariner75]

Most balanced team for Tufts in all three phases in many a year.  Coach C seems to have turned the corner with this group.  We'll see how they respond when the schedule toughens up but good to see progress for the Jumbos.

[mariner75]

As an aside...nice to see the brown shirts back.  Maybe the problem was the baby blues.

[lumbercat]

Bates was in control late in the first half but one of the keys to the turnaround was a Tufts score late in the 1st half on a great passing drive scoring with less than a minute left. The drive was set up by a ticky "celebration" call after a Bates score that penalized Bates 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff. Most in attendance saw no infraction.

Tufts carried the momentum into the second half but the real key to the game was poor special teams play by Bates. They gave up a touchdown on a punt return and a TD on a kickoff return. They also gave up another long return that Tufts converted to a score. Bates gave Tufts the game on special teams which accounted directly for 14 points and inderectly for 21.

Credit to Tufts- Cavicci has done a job. Jack Doll is a great field general and a fine passer- he ran the offense flawlessly against a swarming Bates D.
Doll outplayed Cannone who was playing with an injured leg which limited his mobility but he also played very well. Cannone threw some darts when he had to but on his  longer throws he put some air under it showing great touch.

Bates receiver Riley had another big day  and 6'5" Coolen was very impressive for Tufts.

Bowdoin will have their hands full next week with Tufts while Bates needs to correct the special teams mistakes that killed them today.