FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[hamgrand]

ColbyFootball,

I was at the Midd Colby game too.  And yes, I was nervous regarding the slow start by Midd.  But let's put things in perspective:  Colby's only score came on a sack fumble which gave them the ball with a short field on the Midd 28 yd line.  Good for Colby for causing and then taking advantage of the turnover!

But other than that the Midd offense and Defense had a good showing the rest of the day.  here are some selective stats for the Midd game compared to Colby's other two games this season.

1st downs:  Colby - 10, Midd - 28
Total Offense: Colby - 179, Midd - 559

1st downs: Colby - 18, Williams - 13
Total Off: Colby 241, Williams - 248

1st downs: Colby - 11, Trinity - 22
Total Off: Colby - 200,  Trinity - 478

Looks like Midd did pretty good compared to the other NESCAC opponents Colby faced.  I understand Trinity only played their starters in the 1st half.  Midd pulled their starters near the end of the 3rd quarter.

Colby has some good players for sure.  But so does Middlebury.  I was impressed with the coverage that the Colby DB's executed early on, but they just could not keep up with the Midd receivers over the long haul.  And the Midd defense did a pretty good job of shutting down the run and did not give up any long passes.  Any yardage on Colby's passing game were short passes underneath coverage with some extra yardage after the catch.

So all in all, I think the Midd team has proven they have a pretty good first 11, and frankly pretty tough 75!

[ColbyFootball]

ColbyFootball,

I was at the Midd Colby game too.  And yes, I was nervous regarding the slow start by Midd.  But let's put things in perspective:  Colby's only score came on a sack fumble which gave them the ball with a short field on the Midd 28 yd line.  Good for Colby for causing and then taking advantage of the turnover!

But other than that the Midd offense and Defense had a good showing the rest of the day.  here are some selective stats for the Midd game compared to Colby's other two games this season.

1st downs:  Colby - 10, Midd - 28
Total Offense: Colby - 179, Midd - 559

1st downs: Colby - 18, Williams - 13
Total Off: Colby 241, Williams - 248

1st downs: Colby - 11, Trinity - 22
Total Off: Colby - 200,  Trinity - 478

Looks like Midd did pretty good compared to the other NESCAC opponents Colby faced.  I understand Trinity only played their starters in the 1st half.  Midd pulled their starters near the end of the 3rd quarter.

Colby has some good players for sure.  But so does Middlebury.  I was impressed with the coverage that the Colby DB's executed early on, but they just could not keep up with the Midd receivers over the long haul.  And the Midd defense did a pretty good job of shutting down the run and did not give up any long passes.  Any yardage on Colby's passing game were short passes underneath coverage with some extra yardage after the catch.

So all in all, I think the Midd team has proven they have a pretty good first 11, and frankly pretty tough 75!

You and I are essentially in agreement. And Midd does have a nice team, and solid players, and a HC that I believe gets it. He has a plan and best utilizes his players to implement it.

On your point about the short Colby passes, you are spot on. They have not attempted more than 3-4 passes beyond 20-25 years in the 3 games played. Season total, not per game. I suspect because they question the arm strength of their QBs of which they are down to 2 for some inexplicable reason.

[nescac1]

If the Colby crew keeps this up, we may need to start a Colby Football Facts Twitter account modeled after Blake Bortles facts ... (which is hilarious btw). 

[westcoastDad]

Um, this is very clever providing all of this BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL  for the Panthers.

Let it be known that Amherst always knows that their matchup versus Middlebury is usually the first battle of their season.  Middlebury home or away usually brings their A game for us.

Coach Mills respects ALL the programs for sure.  But it's known that the Middlebury game is HUGE.

Their QB is a returning gunslinger.  Their defense is experienced and stingy.  Their OL is savvy in being able to give their QB time to throw.  And their top receiver Swanky would start on everyone else's squad in the Nescac no doubt.

Middlebury stopped the 21 game streak last year and made us realize that we can bleed.  And boy did we the rest of the year.

I'm hoping our young men formerly known as the LJs come out on Saturday fired up and ready to do damage on both sides of the ball.

[PolarCat]

I never said anyone was "trembling in fear".

Colby had Middlebury on the run. The color was draining from the faces of the Panther fans. .... One small example that had the Midd faithful shaking their heads.

I shared the stands with Midd fans. They were nervous. This game was far closer than the final score.

I know that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, but it's pretty hard to reconcile the above quotes.  Faces draining of color.  Heads shaking.  Nervous.  Really sounds to me like you thought the Mules had the Panthers on the ropes.  Clearly, hamgrand's stats and the final score suggest otherwise.

[PolarCat]

While Midd-Amherst will be the game of the week, I'm also looking forward to the battle of the 2021's in Willietown on Saturday.  Will Maimaron torch the Bobcats' secondary (which has been struggling after losing a key DB in preseason)?  Or will the Bobcats' Brendan Costa rise to the challenge and inject energy into this team?

The Bobcats are better on Special Teams, and their OL, DL and LB's have looked great all season; the offensive play-calling was weak the first two games, but improved dramatically in the second half against Tufts.  (As nescac1 noted, Bates is actually PASSING the ball).

The Ephs FY QB has the benefit of 3 games' experience, and some good receivers.  But the Bobcats will benefit from having 2-plus games worth of film on Maimaron; Coach Raymond only has 2 quarters of film on Costa.  Can the young Ephs play as well as they did against Trinity?  Or will Harriman's crew get their first W?  It's going to be a fun game.

[meadowdale]

Reading all the comments and doing a little research Colby sounds as if is struggling.
I was just informed that they cancelled a jv game against UNE.
Sounds as if a practice game might have worked to there favor.

[JEFFFAN]

Um, this is very clever providing all of this BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL  for the Panthers.

Let it be known that Amherst always knows that their matchup versus Middlebury is usually the first battle of their season.  Middlebury home or away usually brings their A game for us.

Coach Mills respects ALL the programs for sure.  But it's known that the Middlebury game is HUGE.

Their QB is a returning gunslinger.  Their defense is experienced and stingy.  Their OL is savvy in being able to give their QB time to throw.  And their top receiver Swanky would start on everyone else's squad in the Nescac no doubt.

Middlebury stopped the 21 game streak last year and made us realize that we can bleed.  And boy did we the rest of the year.

I'm hoping our young men formerly known as the LJs come out on Saturday fired up and ready to do damage on both sides of the ball.

For those of us "old guard", we are just going to keep Lord Jeffs and go from there!

[amh63]

On hump day....Wes and Williams have upcoming game Previews on their respective websites! Fantastic.  Expect Amherst's Preview late in the week. 
NBN has the featured game of the week up...Midd vs Amherst...today.  Fine objective Midd writer has a Midd win in a high scoring game....by a field goal!  Special team ugh

[westcoastDad]

Can someone explain the Ks and minuses?

[ColbyFootball]

Can someone explain the Ks and minuses?

Yes. I'll give you an example. If I post "enjoy today's games everyone", Polarcat hits the minus button. I actually get a kick out of knowing everything I post so bothers some people. lol

[middpantherpride]

Hey Amh63 and Nescac1... any consensus on the line for the Amherst/Midd game? Over/under?? Amhers (-1) due to home field advantage?? Over/under at 52??

[westcoastDad]

So, it's basically a rating system?  Interesting!  I see I have mostly negatives lol.  Yikes!


Yes. I'll give you an example. If I post "enjoy today's games everyone", Polarcat hits the minus button. I actually get a kick out of knowing everything I post so bothers some people. lol
[/quote]

[lumbercat]

WCD-
No big deal. I'm guessing you got alot of negative press based on your Tom Brady contentions prior to the latest Patriots Super Bowl win last year.
I think it probably all quieted down after that though I don't know if we're able to look back and track it.

[Nescacman]

Hey Amh63 and Nescac1... any consensus on the line for the Amherst/Midd game? Over/under?? Amhers (-1) due to home field advantage?? Over/under at 52??

Our early line is Amhurst -3. Over/under is 48. More to follow. We are 13-2 for the season picking games. We are thinking 27-24 or 24-21...something in that range.