FB: Empire 8

[02 Warhawk]

shoulda said west...
sorry..
jeez- you guys a very litteral

Grow some thicker skin buddy...I was joking. Hence the " "..

[fisheralum91]

As was I.
You are all so litteral 

[tommiegun]

(Potentially annoying comment: While spelling it incorrectly, I'm at least glad that someone is using the word literal correctly.)

Alright, I posted basically the same thing on the MIAC board. 

I confess I know absolutely nothing about St. John Fisher other than that I correctly picked them to be playing in this game.   In generals, what type of team is UST facing this weekend at Palmer Field?  Do you guys throw (I assume not very much with a 3rd string quarterback)? Is your 1st string guy gonna be back at qb (there was some discussion of him playing "slasher"; does that mean he's playing "Ray Lewis?")?

More importantly, what is your defense like?  There are repeated comments that UST will throw 4 picks...  Is your run defense stout?  Will UST be forced to throw?  While I'm obviously biased, I think UST could have beat Monmouth without throwing four times, let alone being in a situation where they'd throw four picks... will SJF's defensive strength (which appears to be air takeaways based on the SJF posters comments) even come into play?

Next, has SJF played any weather games this year?  If so, how did they do?  If not, is the team built to succeed in a weather game? (FYI: Weather report for Saturday is 35 and light snow)

Finally, who or what is St. John Fisher?

Thank you, I'll hang up and listen.

[tommiegun]

I guess we will find out all of this and more on SatErday.
You west coast guys will have a new appreciation of East region teams me thinks...

I was trying to word my post neutrally, given the somewhat harsh early banter over this game, but from everything i've been able to glean, I think St. John Fisher has a solid chance to win.  I never thought too much about it before now, but reading between the lines on my post (can one read between the lines in his own post in retrospect?), I guess I believe St. Thomas being ranked #3 nationally is a pretty generous ranking for a team that's really not accomplished too much on the national stage:

St. Thomas:
In '07:   2-8
In '08:  7-3 did not qualify for the playoffs
In '09:  11-2 Eliminated by a Linfield team (11 point loss) that turned around and lost to UWW by 10.
In '10:  12-1. Eliminated in QF by a Bethel team that turned around the next week and lost by 20 to Mount Union.

In my opinion, there's not huge evidence (any?) to suggest St. Thomas is in a different league than St. John Fisher (or for that matter Kean or Salisbury either!).

Nothing before '08 is relevant at St. Thomas as that is when Caruso got here and started recruiting and bringing in D1 and D2 transfers. 

[fisheralum91]

Wow,
Why dont you ask for the playbook and the signs !

Kidding...St. T will have to prepare for both QB scenerios as both are likely.
D- has been a work in progress and has become the star of the team.
While you are correct in the interception strength, I think that the ability to confuse the QB and disguise coverage is the strength.
Weather- Remember gun- we are in upstate ny- our weather is similar to yours minus the fact that we get more snow.
As for St. John Fisher from Wikipedia:


Saint John Fisher (1459[2] /c. 19 October 1469[1] – 22 June 1535) was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints. Fisher was executed by order of King Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's dogma of papal primacy.

[WashedUp]

I was trying to word my post neutrally, given the somewhat harsh early banter over this game, but from everything i've been able to glean, I think St. John Fisher has a solid chance to win.  I never thought too much about it before now, but reading between the lines on my post (can one read between the lines in his own post in retrospect?), I guess I believe St. Thomas being ranked #3 nationally is a pretty generous ranking for a team that's really not accomplished too much on the national stage:

St. Thomas:
In '07:   2-8
In '08:  7-3 did not qualify for the playoffs
In '09:  11-2 Eliminated by a Linfield team (11 point loss) that turned around and lost to UWW by 10.
In '10:  12-1. Eliminated in QF by a Bethel team that turned around the next week and lost by 20 to Mount Union.

In my opinion, there's not huge evidence (any?) to suggest St. Thomas is in a different league than St. John Fisher (or for that matter Kean or Salisbury either!).

I agree that UST and SJF (and really all the teams remaining) are in the same league, but I disagree that UST hasn't done enough to warrant a high national ranking.  They went to the quarterfinals each of the last two years and returned a high percentage of the players off of those teams.  Only four teams have made the quarterfinals three straight years (UWW, Mount Union, Wesley and UST).  The other three teams (and North Cental) started the season ranked ahead of UST, but Wesley lost, so UST jumped them.  UST hasn't done anything during the season that would warrant them dropping, their closest game being a 10 point win over a team that's gone to the semis 2 of 4 years, and dominated a deep conference (though without another really dominant team this year).  I really don't see an argument for having them below #4 or #5, which isn't really all that different from #3.

The great thing about D3 is it doesn't matter and in the end it is really irrelevant.  Either team can win this week.  Sounds like SJF has a ball-hawking defense that could cause problems for UST.  UST has a defense that can cause problems if SJF is forced to drive the field.  In the end it all comes down to execution, not computers, predictions, or rankings.

[tommiegun]

I was more interested in how SJF has faired against teams who attempt to slam the ball down its throat.  Have they played anyone (other than Salisbury) who just pounds the rock up the gut? 

As to the weather, I realize NY and MN weather is not all that different (though I'd probably catch flak for saying that on the MIAC board).  I was more interested about whether this SJF team has actually played in bad weather and, if so, how it has actually done?

[boobyhasgameyo]

(Potentially annoying comment: While spelling it incorrectly, I'm at least glad that someone is using the word literal correctly.)

Alright, I posted basically the same thing on the MIAC board. 

I confess I know absolutely nothing about St. John Fisher other than that I correctly picked them to be playing in this game.   In generals, what type of team is UST facing this weekend at Palmer Field?  Do you guys throw (I assume not very much with a 3rd string quarterback)? Is your 1st string guy gonna be back at qb (there was some discussion of him playing "slasher"; does that mean he's playing "Ray Lewis?")?

More importantly, what is your defense like?  There are repeated comments that UST will throw 4 picks...  Is your run defense stout?  Will UST be forced to throw?  While I'm obviously biased, I think UST could have beat Monmouth without throwing four times, let alone being in a situation where they'd throw four picks... will SJF's defensive strength (which appears to be air takeaways based on the SJF posters comments) even come into play?

Next, has SJF played any weather games this year?  If so, how did they do?  If not, is the team built to succeed in a weather game? (FYI: Weather report for Saturday is 35 and light snow)

Finally, who or what is St. John Fisher?

Thank you, I'll hang up and listen.

Tommie,

Our offense is more of a read option with Kramer at QB.  It wouldn't be surprising to see him throw it 18 times a game and run for 20 (kind of like Tim Tebow this weekend)...the backup QB seems to be more of a thrower than Kramer (admittedly Kramer doesn't have the biggest arm) but it looks like the offense isn't abandoning having the backup use his feet as he did manage to score on a 30 yard run this past weekend. 

Kramer is a bit of an all around athlete.  He played QB in high school and was the New York State player of the year in his class, then he went to a D1 FCS team (Colgate) as a WR then RB before transferring to Fisher.   I honestly don't know much about our backup other than he has done a great job filling in for Ryan. 

Our run defense was stout against Springfield which is one of the top running offenses in the country, but they seemed to be a bit of a paper tiger this year.  We all know that the Salisbury game didn't turn out as well.  They have not yet faced a team this year with a conventional offense that likes to play a power running game.  I don't see our run defense a strength.  The defense has given up yards all year and is usually just very opportunistic.  If the running game at St. Thomas is as dominant as they say...they may not have an issue scoring on us. 

As FA91 stated - weather won't really be an issue.  The winters in Minnesota are no doubt colder but we are used to below freezing temperatures and we get as much snow as anybody.  Weather has been kind to us this year however so we haven't really battled the elements yet this season.  If the biggest problem is the cold though - it won't be an issue. 

Looking forward to the game this weekend!   

[sjfcards]

I am with many Fisher fans getting a crash course on St. Thomas.
They seem rather evenly matched.
Should be a good game.
I will say this- I am extremely proud of what Fisher has done this year to date- Coach Vos is to thank for that.

I think you can make a strong argument that this has been Vos's best coaching job. Obviously the year they went to the final four and played with MUC he won all the awards, but this team is not nearly as good. After the Hobart loss I think most of us were thinking an ECAC bowl would be an accomplishment, and no one had them in the Elite 8.

They have just gotten better and better with each game this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Fisher fans, looking at the St. Thomas schedule it does not look like they played more than 1 or 2 good teams.  Bethel is a solid program and that game looked rather even.  The usual MIAC power St. Johns is way off this year.  Fisher is likely the best team they have played all year.  I am not sure about Bethel's size or physicallity but they are not likely any bigger or more physical than Fisher.  Stats are easily misleading and I think that the Tommies' may be.  From an early, quick look at things I think Fisher has a good chance of winning this game.  The weather could always play a part in the game since it is in Minnesota.  Unless you guys are afraid to go play them based on their posters unbiased opinions about how good they are.

I wouldn't be so sure about talking down the St. Thomas schedule. With St. John's down, the conference was more balanced than ever ... and that balance limited the league to one playoff team as it usually does the powerful WIAC. IMO Bethel, which can be very physical, could probably beat half the playoff field. St. Olaf was ranking and headed for postseason until the rejuvenated Johnnies  took them out late in the year.

That said a team like SJF could wake up the echoes of that 12-7 loss to Bethel in last year's regional finals.

repete, I used Bethel in my post as likely the only good team they played.  Thanks for agreeing with me.  The rest of the schedule is not that good, St. Olaf is ok.  The balanced conference is the same explanation that the E8, NJAC, and MAC use for when they dont have an undefeated team which then limits their leagues to just one team.

The balanced league argument can be legit. It's hurt the WIAC for years. Beneath UWW are usually some very, very good teams.

Disagree on the "not that good" rest of the schedule. The MIAC for years had one of the best postseason records of any conference, though I don't know if that's been updated lately. And it does well against non-conference foes. This season, for instance, the top  six teams in the league are 11-1 against non-MIAC opponents, mostly from the West Region. While not as solid top to bottom as the cheesehead rivals, the MIAC has middle of the pack teams that are usually very solid but not spectacular ... and would  be AQ contenders in lesser leagues. It's easy to view lopsided wins as signs of a soft sked, but the d3 voters must have seen something to have the Tommies at No. 3.

It'll never happen (and some would say it probably shouldn't), but in some ways it would be fun to have teams with the ability to travel a little farther afield for their NC games.

Having only seen webcasts, I don't have a true feeling how good either team is. I have a hunch it will be a very good, close game ... as third-round games should be.

The conference-by-conference records are updated weekly in the postseason:

http://www.d3football.com/interactive/faq/playoffs#9

[ONE TIME]

Thoughts--The combined records of the last two teams Fisher played - 21 & 0-- Rankings of teams left  #s 1-2-3-4-7-10 and  one --"others receiving votes",  of the 8 games last weekend only one road team won-Fisher--as far as the trash talk ,after 5+ years of dealing with Jose Viper and his merry band of assassins this is mild. soooo anyway you guys have every reason to be proud of your cards.

[fisheralum91]

Who are you masked stranger?

[pg04]

The email address in the profile gives it away,  I think.

[tommiegun]

^^ +k.

[fisheralum91]

woops,
yup it does...

good ta see ya gramps