FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[oldbethel27]

I feel dumber each time I read one of your posts.

It is evidenced in your baseless judgment of talent.

[Mr.Shoes]

AO, non-conference games don't count?

[AO]

the number drop-off for any team is not large, and I would argue that conf. games are more important and show where a team is truly at---example-buena vista over bethel.

[Mr.Shoes]

the number drop-off for any team is not large, and I would argue that conf. games are more important and show where a team is truly at---example-buena vista over bethel.

That doesn't make them disposable.

[oldbethel27]

Ah to heck with it... go on believing they suck... why should I care what you think of them?  I guess I was more defending them in front of the board, and less trying to convince you.

[TC]

Augsburg had perhaps the best passing attack in the midwest this season.  The Johnnie aura must have killed the passing game when they played Auggie, but they had a lot of success against everybody else.

Please stop.  Doing something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're any good at it.  Yes, Augsburg passed for a ton of yards (358.4 per game, best in the MIAC), but the fact is they kinda sucked at it.  Their 6.9 yards per pass attempt was ahead of only the prolific passing offenses of St. Thomas and Hamline in the MIAC.  Unless you confused "St. Olaf" with "Augsburg", and I wouldn't put it past you, you are way off base.

And yes, the Johnnies could have an uncharacteristically large offensive line next year.  Typically, their starters have been in the 250-260 lb. class, but look at these potential players:

Drew Percival, 6-9, 300
Dan Gamache, 6-4, 280
Ben Dimond, 6-5, 290
Blaine Anderson, 6-2, 280

I'm sure I'm missing some other players who saw significant time this year, but Greg Sowden seems like the runt of the litter at 6-5, 250.  Potentially add in the Kottom kid at 6-4, 300 and we could be a looking at a Concordia-esque line in Collegeville next year.

[Mr.Shoes]

Dammit. I wasted post #500 on that? Oh well, not like I was going to come up with anything witty anyway.

[repete]

And the pipeline to Collegeville continues...as reported by The Shooter to Collegeville via Eden Prairie.  Great start to the offseason.

Shooter: Look for 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive tackle Erik Kottom, a freshman, to transfer from the Gophers to Division III St. John's in Collegeville, Minn.

AO: Please go away.

Happy Hannukah everyone!!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have him (potentially) aboard, but...   He was at Wyoming in 2006, the U of M in 2007--what's the story?  He hasn't played a down of competitive football since 2005 and he can't seem to make up his mind about where he wants that next play to be. 

Sounds like a good pick-up. I'm not too worried about the movement. Wyoming football went very sour toward the end of that season and he had the chance to go to the Big Ten (well, kind of ..). Kid was an honor roll student in Laramie and then might have been caught in the regime change at Minny.

Back when I graduated SJU the speaker was the great New York Times columnist Russell Baker, who told us about adjusting to changes and "not letting a 21-year-old determine what you're going to do with the rest of your life." The same goes for a kid trying to balance a love of the game and education.

He's headed to a great school and a great program. Good for him.

[AO]

Augsburg had perhaps the best passing attack in the midwest this season.  The Johnnie aura must have killed the passing game when they played Auggie, but they had a lot of success against everybody else.

Please stop.  Doing something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're any good at it.  Yes, Augsburg passed for a ton of yards (358.4 per game, best in the MIAC), but the fact is they kinda sucked at it.  Their 6.9 yards per pass attempt was ahead of only the prolific passing offenses of St. Thomas and Hamline in the MIAC.  Unless you confused "St. Olaf" with "Augsburg", and I wouldn't put it past you, you are way off base.

How is 380 yards and 30 tds in 8 games not good?  It doesn't mean they were the best team as they won only half their games, but their passing game beat a lot of good Defenses.  Give credit where credit is due.  Yes St. Olaf could be argued to have a better passing game, but looking at the stats they do come up short.

[TC]

Augsburg had perhaps the best passing attack in the midwest this season.  The Johnnie aura must have killed the passing game when they played Auggie, but they had a lot of success against everybody else.

Please stop.  Doing something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're any good at it.  Yes, Augsburg passed for a ton of yards (358.4 per game, best in the MIAC), but the fact is they kinda sucked at it.  Their 6.9 yards per pass attempt was ahead of only the prolific passing offenses of St. Thomas and Hamline in the MIAC.  Unless you confused "St. Olaf" with "Augsburg", and I wouldn't put it past you, you are way off base.

How is 380 yards and 30 tds in 8 games not good?  It doesn't mean they were the best team as they won only half their games, but their passing game beat a lot of good Defenses.  Give credit where credit is due.  Yes St. Olaf could be argued to have a better passing game, but looking at the stats they do come up short.

So we'll agree to agree, then?

[jaypeter]

If they only won half their games, maybe some of the passing yards came as they were trying to play catch-up?  I'm admittadly not familiar with Augsburg's team, but a significant number of 300 yard passing games for qb's come from them trying to lead their team to a comeback.

[oldbethel27]

Augsburg had perhaps the best passing attack in the midwest this season.  The Johnnie aura must have killed the passing game when they played Auggie, but they had a lot of success against everybody else.

Please stop.  Doing something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're any good at it.  Yes, Augsburg passed for a ton of yards (358.4 per game, best in the MIAC), but the fact is they kinda sucked at it.  Their 6.9 yards per pass attempt was ahead of only the prolific passing offenses of St. Thomas and Hamline in the MIAC.  Unless you confused "St. Olaf" with "Augsburg", and I wouldn't put it past you, you are way off base.

How is 380 yards and 30 tds in 8 games not good? It doesn't mean they were the best team as they won only half their games, but their passing game beat a lot of good Defenses.  Give credit where credit is due.  Yes St. Olaf could be argued to have a better passing game, but looking at the stats they do come up short.

So we'll agree to agree, then?

C'mon TC, don't twist AO's words like that... at least include his qualifying "perhaps" in your highlighted text.

[DuffMan]

Ah to heck with it... go on believing they suck... why should I care what you think of them?  I guess I was more defending them in front of the board, and less trying to convince you.

Maybe I'm using the term "suck" too loosely.  It's not that I think they're worthless, but I think they're a big weakness of Bethel's defense.

[TC]

C'mon TC, don't twist AO's words like that... at least include his qualifying "perhaps" in your highlighted text.

Fair enough.  The midwest passing attacks that I would take over Augsburg, without a doubt, off the top of my head:  St. Olaf, Gustavus, St. Thomas, St. John's, UW-Whitewater, UW-LaCrosse, Central, Wartburg, and who knows how many other IIAC, WIAC, and MWC teams I'd take if I had more knowledge about those conferences.  I'd even consider Carleton.  

That isn't to take anything away from what Jordan Berg and Royce Winford did this year--they both had great seasons--but there are at least a half dozen teams in the midwest that simply have better/more talented passing attacks.  To me, that doesn't equate to "perhaps the best passing attack in the midwest this season".

The Auggies had one pass go for 74 yards against the Johnnies, which was the result of a blown tackle on a short pass.  I understand that play still counts and you can't just pretend it away, but outside of that play, Augsburg was 14-of-31 for 125 yards against St. John's.  St. Thomas, St. Olaf, and Central were all substantially better than that against St. John's.  You can say that Gustavus also sucked against the Johnnies, but even if you want to take them out of the discussion I still don't think the Auggies were any better than above-average passing.

Then again, they never had a chance to play against the Augsburg pass defense, either...

(Edited to add quote.)

[kickerdad]

I've been following these boards the last few days and have a question for you all you guys with time to research such things...

Someone posted a few pages ago that the Mt. Union defense is predicated on speed and actually rather undersized. Then, someone recently just said that Mt. Union's defensive tackles are "monsters" and running up the middle will be nearly impossible. I believe both statements came from Mt. Union backers.

So, which is it? Are they undersized and just super athletic? Or was the first poster incorrect and the guys are actually huge and talented? Is there an easy comparison for MIAC minds?...

Having seen them in person and watching them demolish Averett, I can say they are monsters....The middle linebacker has arms as big as a tree trunk. Every player including the QB and Kicker look like they have been in the weight room all their life. And they have the speed to go with it.