FB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[JT]

RU Fan,

I haven't run the tape of the interviews yet.  Will do that later today.  I am paraphasing what Accorsi said.  He thought that maybe the entire team was a little bit spent from the effort in the OT win against Robert Morris.  This was the reason he gave for the Profs being a little lackluster at the beginning of the second half.

It may not have been a great Rowan performance, but they put the game away in the 4th with a TD, held, and ran out the clock with 4 minutes to go. 

Maybe this is a better way to think of it.  If UE didn't try to reach the ball over the goal line, he's down at the 1.  The Profs proabably punch that in.

Ross was down.  The refs blow the whistle, no phantom 80-yard return.  The Profs walk away with a 37-13 win.  OK.

That's a 14 point swing on two strange plays.

[RU Fan]

Accorsi intimated that the team was a little off... from coaches to the players, perhaps due to the Robert Morris comeback. 

JT

What I was curious about was the "from coaches to the players" portion of your quote.  Did he actually say that or did you add that while paraphrasing?  I can understand that the players could be a little drained from the strain of an OT both mentally and physically but how does that translate to the coaching staff?  You would think that they way they won that game would pump them up not flatten them out.

That's what coaches do for a living.  That OT was 6 days ago.  Its their job to get the team up/prepared for the next game, come up with a game plan, make sure that its executed and make adjustments where necessary. 

I think the bottom line, with the talent that this team has, is to turn them loose and let them play.

[ACMob]

DVC #9     Ithaca #11     14pts

Gordon, I'm a Raider @ heart!  How "bout dem Cowboys"?!!

[gordonmann]

AC:

Better than the alternative which the Raiders have had the past few weeks. 

Tough not to admire McNabb, though.  I keep waiting for him to throw a TD, fall apart and have the O-Line gather the pieces in a wheelbarrow so they can put him back together for the next drive.

[4merprof]

Phil,

Where does one even start, in respect to the game from Friday.  Your touchdowns came from a dropped punt, and you got the ball on inside your own 20, and a kick return when your guy was down.  Our rb fumbled into the endzone, for a touch back.  Acorsi showed absolutely no b@lls in kicking all of those field goals.  For some reason the Profs only threw the ball 33 times.  They got completely out of their typical offensive strategy, it looked like a shot-gun wishbone offense the way they kept trying to run the ball all game.  Our receivers looked off there game, there was a couple of balls in the endzone that Wright usually gets.  Orihel threw the ball behind Silva on a third and goal that would have been a touchdown.

Basically, the Profs looked like they went out drinking on Thursday night, and TCNJ still couldn't compete with them.  That score was alot closer than the game actually was. 

Things that I took from the game.  Profs didn't play like the #4 team in the country.  If the coaches continue to call an offensive game like they did verse TCNJ, Prof fans don't need to worry about using their frequent flyer miles for the playoffs.  As well as the Profs special teams, especially kick-off, is terrible, the opposing team either gets the ball on the 35 or 40 everytime.

...and Phil one more thing, you can beat me up all you want in respect for my feelings for TCNJ, or my lack of prognasticating skills, but one thing remains true.  Profs are still 4-0 and whats TCNJ's record.  You remind me of one the players that talks sh!t after they score a touchdown when your teams down by forty.  There is one thing good for you however as a TCNJ fan,  Basketball ball season is about three months away!

[Warren Thompson]

Where is the Zman? I think it's time for him and his "connected" people to straighten out this room .... 

[Dr. xGSC]

Good teams find a way to win, and RU won. Plain and simple! It was a game of two different halves (just like the week before). We can all pretend to be coaches in the stands and question the play calling, but we aren't and we won't be. As for the field goals, I thought, at the time, that it was the right decision to do, and quite frankly, it's nice to see that we can get those 3 points when needed. I didn't agree with the punt though and thought they should have gone for it.

But for a few stumbles by RU (punt fumble, goal line fumble and phantom TD on the punt return), the game isn't close. Remember, any given day a team can win. A team is measured by what they do and how they respond when things don't go their way. RU cannot afford to be too vanilla on the road against Cortland and hopefully the two weeks off will get them better prepared mentally and physically.

For those bashing Phil, you have a right to say what it is that you feel you must vent. But, he is a very strong supporter of TCNJ, the NJAC, and through the years, he has been a very strong supporter of RU as well. So lighten up a bit and quit getting your panties in an uproar.

[Warren Thompson]

For those bashing Phil, you have a right to say what it is that you feel you must vent. But, he is a very strong supporter of TCNJ, the NJAC, and through the years, he has been a very strong supporter of RU as well. So lighten up a bit and quit getting your panties in an uproar.

Well said, Dr.x. Phil is one of the best of posters in this and other rooms.

[JT]

Dr. xGSC,

Well said.  Phil is cool.  I'd hate to see this room turn into "Linfield" East by blasting everyone with a contrarion opinion or those that support a different team.   Good teams pull out wins even when they don't have their best stuff. 

RU Fan,

I think I'm pretty close to what Accorsi said.  The game story will be up by tonight.  Very busy W/E.

[TecmoYellowHat]

How does Cortland look this year?  I was wondering if Cortaca would be a good game.

[phil]

4merprof
I would have predicted a 3 to 4 touchdown win by Rowan myself if asked at any point from last December until now. You however added a level of sophmoric vitriol which begged for comment. You can't repeatedly predict a 56-7 outcome and then make excuses when it doesn't materialize. I don't much care if Rowan outgained TCNJ 800-100 yards. The score was 23-20 with under 7 minutes to go and the Profs were a dumb mistake or a lucky play from being shocked. Great teams don't let themselves get in that position.

Any reasonable TCNJ supporter would have expected to be 1-3 with a team such as this. The fact that the Lions were once again able to throw a scare at the Profs and their fans was fun to see and the resulting doubts and second-guessing by Rowan posters in this forum were a real bonus – particularly after your thoughts about this game. Seems to me you should stop making excuses and putting down TCNJ – and start looking at why your team can put up eye-popping offensive statistics like they did against CNU and the Lions and not put a team away. Of course, if you want to point to the Robert Morris game as the high water mark for this season just keep it up – at some point you won't come up against a team as inexperienced as TCNJ.

Take some solice in the fact that you discovered you actually have a kicking game and your team survived despite playing a game they would have lost against 75 other DIII schools. Perhaps if something is learned from the TCNJ game most of us won't have to be posting here in late November to apologize for another Rowan playoff debacle.

[JT]

I was pleased by the apparent resurgence of the kicking game, the lack of one has led to some costly defeats the past few years. Kicking has been pretty much a given with Leone, Migliori, and Frade covering an entire decade plus.

The Profs are fine.  Complaining that they didn't win by enough points is a futile exercise.

TCNJ played an inspired game and were pretty good on defense.  The Lions covered the deep routes well, and tightened up in the redzone. 

Rowan will tweak a few things and keep improving.

[gordonmann]

Just think how boring this board was without Phil.  I'm glad he's back.

YellowHat:

John McGraw or DPadavona are probably best suited to answer your question.  But it looks like there's no reason to suspect anything less than another classic at Cortaca.

Plus, the game could have playoff implications for both teams, which would be fun.  With 7 Pool C (at-large) bids instead of 4, maybe a two-loss Cortland team with a win over Ithaca gets in.  I'd say Ithaca is in as the E8 champ barring a stumble, but they could very well need the win to get homefield advantage vis-a-vis Rowan, Delaware Valley and Hobart/Union.

[TecmoYellowHat]

Yeah, I am thinking Ithaca has the E8.  I would love a Cortaca game that meant something for both teams. 

A Rowan-Ithaca matchup would be nice for the east championship in the NCAA's too.

[flash]

Gordon,

      Cortland only has 1 loss.........you know what they say about assuming.....