FB: Empire 8

[bomber3]

Updated E8 rankings after Saturday.

1) Salisbury: The new top dog in the conference following their offensive outburst against Utica. It's no secret that this team can put up the points, but can they beat a team with a similar option attack in Springfield, something they may not see again all year?
2) SJF: Big leap for the Cardinals after one of the more impressive wins by an E8 team this season. A sixth consecutive win over Ithaca (and GOD, does that thought make me sick as an IC alum) and a Salisbury loss, and suddenly, this team may go from #4 to #1 in the conference in the span of two weeks.
3) Alfred: Tough setback for the Saxons, but not one they can't recover from. Two second-half turnovers gave the Cardinals a short field and led to the two decisive touchdowns in a game that was otherwise pretty even statistically. They get what should be an easy win in Hartwick this coming weekend.
4) Springfield: Others are more impressed with Springfield than I am. In my eyes, they haven't beaten anyone of note, and their defense allowed 21 points to a 1-4 team last week. In their one game against a capable opponent, Alfred ran for 232 yards. That's not a good sign for a team looking to stop Salisbury's lethal option attack.
5) Ithaca: As I said a few days ago, without Ruffrage's big day and Conti's game-ending pick-six, Ithaca may have lost Saturday at Hartwick. The Cage has been a longtime nemesis for the Bombers, and they get another one this week when SJF comes to the South Hill.
6) Frostburg State: Nothing changes after the bye week. Unfortunately, that includes their opponent this week, regional power Wesley.
7) Utica: The Pioneers put up 45 points against what was thought to be a respectable Salisbury defense. The only problem? They gave up 70. Their game Saturday should be a good one, though, as they get an RPI team that hasn't allowed fewer than 21 points in a game through four weeks.
8) Hartwick: Some will say they should have defeated the Bombers Saturday, and I'll oblige that the argument is there. I say it's more due to the Cage getting into IC's head, and that they need to play their best game of the season to keep this week's game at Alfred within reach.

Once again I will nitpick the 4/5 spot.  This week, Fisher deserves to be ahead of Ithaca.  Springfield, I would disagree.  Both IC and Springfiend have lost once and Ithaca's close loss now looks better than Springfield's.  Ithaca has wins over Brockport, at Union, and at Hartwick (combined 4 wins).  Springfiend has wins vs Husson and Frostburg and at Merchant Marine (combined 3 wins).  Once again this is nitpicking but I think these two should be switched.  The rest of the rankings I agree with.

And everyone has been spot on with the Fisher/IC analysis.  The story of this game is IC's offense vs Fisher's defense.  IC will probably need at least 21 to win this game and turn it over 2 or fewer times.  Anything less than 21 points and more than 2 turnovers spells trouble and most likely means the streak will continue.  The defense will need to hold their own and win the field position battle - IC will find it very difficult to string together long, sustained drives.  Looking forward to this matchup. 

[drt]

Thoughts on this weekend's upcoming games.

Fisher-IC: I think this game will be close, as neither offense seems capable of putting up a ton of points consistently (Rochester and Union are looking more and more like the exception rather than the rule for these two teams offenses) and both teams will force turnovers. Key questions: Can Hendel avoid turnovers against a team that picked off Secky four times? Can Conti and White shut down Schmidt and Francis? Is Will Carter going to play for the Bombers and help stabilize the defense? Who wins the special teams battle?

Prediction: Fisher 27, IC 14. Bombers hang around, but the streak continues

Springfield-Salisbury: Flip a coin, because honestly, I have no clue how to tell the teams apart. I'm leaning towards Salisbury at home, but this one could go either way.

Salisbury 34, Springfield 31

Frostburg-Wesley/Team Boltus-Alfred: Putting these two together because I think it's the same situation: An overmatched team that will probably get blown out. Sorry Yanks.

Wesley 56, Frostburg 10. Alfred 35, Wick 7

Utica-RPI: The Pioneers get a break from E8 play thankfully, but Utica's defense is simply getting ripped apart. RPI strikes another blow for the LL

RPi 49, Utica 27

I'm interested in what RPI's D brings to the table that Salisbury didn't.

What did Union's or Forstburg's? Both of those teams held Utica to less, but we'd probably put the Sea Gulls ahead of them. Maybe 49-37 is closer. But I think RPI wins it

I guess I used Salisbury as the example for two reasons.  1) I made the post from my phone and I have a hard enough time typing on a regular keyboard.  2)  Salisbury had been very dominant defensively their previous three games.  I won't bore everyone with the statistical comparisons, but UC significantly outdid Salisbury's previous opponents.
I think the game will be very competitive if UC can control the ball and keep their defense off the field.

[Old IC Voice]

Updated E8 rankings after Saturday.

1) Salisbury: The new top dog in the conference following their offensive outburst against Utica. It's no secret that this team can put up the points, but can they beat a team with a similar option attack in Springfield, something they may not see again all year?
2) SJF: Big leap for the Cardinals after one of the more impressive wins by an E8 team this season. A sixth consecutive win over Ithaca (and GOD, does that thought make me sick as an IC alum) and a Salisbury loss, and suddenly, this team may go from #4 to #1 in the conference in the span of two weeks.
3) Alfred: Tough setback for the Saxons, but not one they can't recover from. Two second-half turnovers gave the Cardinals a short field and led to the two decisive touchdowns in a game that was otherwise pretty even statistically. They get what should be an easy win in Hartwick this coming weekend.
4) Springfield: Others are more impressed with Springfield than I am. In my eyes, they haven't beaten anyone of note, and their defense allowed 21 points to a 1-4 team last week. In their one game against a capable opponent, Alfred ran for 232 yards. That's not a good sign for a team looking to stop Salisbury's lethal option attack.
5) Ithaca: As I said a few days ago, without Ruffrage's big day and Conti's game-ending pick-six, Ithaca may have lost Saturday at Hartwick. The Cage has been a longtime nemesis for the Bombers, and they get another one this week when SJF comes to the South Hill.
6) Frostburg State: Nothing changes after the bye week. Unfortunately, that includes their opponent this week, regional power Wesley.
7) Utica: The Pioneers put up 45 points against what was thought to be a respectable Salisbury defense. The only problem? They gave up 70. Their game Saturday should be a good one, though, as they get an RPI team that hasn't allowed fewer than 21 points in a game through four weeks.
8) Hartwick: Some will say they should have defeated the Bombers Saturday, and I'll oblige that the argument is there. I say it's more due to the Cage getting into IC's head, and that they need to play their best game of the season to keep this week's game at Alfred within reach.

Once again I will nitpick the 4/5 spot.  This week, Fisher deserves to be ahead of Ithaca.  Springfield, I would disagree.  Both IC and Springfiend have lost once and Ithaca's close loss now looks better than Springfield's.  Ithaca has wins over Brockport, at Union, and at Hartwick (combined 4 wins).  Springfiend has wins vs Husson and Frostburg and at Merchant Marine (combined 3 wins).  Once again this is nitpicking but I think these two should be switched.  The rest of the rankings I agree with.

And everyone has been spot on with the Fisher/IC analysis.  The story of this game is IC's offense vs Fisher's defense.  IC will probably need at least 21 to win this game and turn it over 2 or fewer times.  Anything less than 21 points and more than 2 turnovers spells trouble and most likely means the streak will continue.  The defense will need to hold their own and win the field position battle - IC will find it very difficult to string together long, sustained drives.  Looking forward to this matchup.

Once again, part of me wanted to rank IC fourth, and once again, I refrained. They were a few breaks away from losing at Hartwick; that game was nowhere near as one-sided as the 27-13 final score would indicate. As good as IC's defense has been this year, the Hawks actually outgained IC, were driving to tie the game in the final minutes, and that's cause for concern leading into this week going against a Fisher team that appears considerably better than 'Wick in every aspect of the game. In addition, Springfield hasn't proven much, but I'm more impressed by their eight-point loss to Alfred than I am by IC's 14-point loss to Salisbury. Ultimately, those two factors made it impossible for me to move the Bombers up.

[dlippiel]

In addition, Springfield hasn't proven much, but I'm more impressed by their eight-point loss to Alfred than I am by IC's 14-point loss to Salisbury. Ultimately, those two factors made it impossible for me to move the Bombers up.

dlip agrees and he thinks this is the best gage to disceipher between the two teams today. We'll know more about each soon.

[maxpower]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

[boobyhasgameyo]

I don't know if dlip is aware of Superman...it feels like once Superman left (for good it seems), Dlip showed up.


Hey...has anyone ever noticed that if Dlip ever took off his glasses, stood up straight and had a little bit of hair curled down over his forehead that he'd really look like....nah forget it that's crazy talk. 

[Bombers798891]

Updated E8 rankings after Saturday.

1) Salisbury: The new top dog in the conference following their offensive outburst against Utica. It's no secret that this team can put up the points, but can they beat a team with a similar option attack in Springfield, something they may not see again all year?
2) SJF: Big leap for the Cardinals after one of the more impressive wins by an E8 team this season. A sixth consecutive win over Ithaca (and GOD, does that thought make me sick as an IC alum) and a Salisbury loss, and suddenly, this team may go from #4 to #1 in the conference in the span of two weeks.
3) Alfred: Tough setback for the Saxons, but not one they can't recover from. Two second-half turnovers gave the Cardinals a short field and led to the two decisive touchdowns in a game that was otherwise pretty even statistically. They get what should be an easy win in Hartwick this coming weekend.
4) Springfield: Others are more impressed with Springfield than I am. In my eyes, they haven't beaten anyone of note, and their defense allowed 21 points to a 1-4 team last week. In their one game against a capable opponent, Alfred ran for 232 yards. That's not a good sign for a team looking to stop Salisbury's lethal option attack.
5) Ithaca: As I said a few days ago, without Ruffrage's big day and Conti's game-ending pick-six, Ithaca may have lost Saturday at Hartwick. The Cage has been a longtime nemesis for the Bombers, and they get another one this week when SJF comes to the South Hill.
6) Frostburg State: Nothing changes after the bye week. Unfortunately, that includes their opponent this week, regional power Wesley.
7) Utica: The Pioneers put up 45 points against what was thought to be a respectable Salisbury defense. The only problem? They gave up 70. Their game Saturday should be a good one, though, as they get an RPI team that hasn't allowed fewer than 21 points in a game through four weeks.
8) Hartwick: Some will say they should have defeated the Bombers Saturday, and I'll oblige that the argument is there. I say it's more due to the Cage getting into IC's head, and that they need to play their best game of the season to keep this week's game at Alfred within reach.

Once again I will nitpick the 4/5 spot.  This week, Fisher deserves to be ahead of Ithaca.  Springfield, I would disagree.  Both IC and Springfiend have lost once and Ithaca's close loss now looks better than Springfield's.  Ithaca has wins over Brockport, at Union, and at Hartwick (combined 4 wins).  Springfiend has wins vs Husson and Frostburg and at Merchant Marine (combined 3 wins).  Once again this is nitpicking but I think these two should be switched.  The rest of the rankings I agree with.

And everyone has been spot on with the Fisher/IC analysis.  The story of this game is IC's offense vs Fisher's defense.  IC will probably need at least 21 to win this game and turn it over 2 or fewer times.  Anything less than 21 points and more than 2 turnovers spells trouble and most likely means the streak will continue.  The defense will need to hold their own and win the field position battle - IC will find it very difficult to string together long, sustained drives.  Looking forward to this matchup.

Once again, part of me wanted to rank IC fourth, and once again, I refrained. They were a few breaks away from losing at Hartwick; that game was nowhere near as one-sided as the 27-13 final score would indicate. As good as IC's defense has been this year, the Hawks actually outgained IC, were driving to tie the game in the final minutes, and that's cause for concern leading into this week going against a Fisher team that appears considerably better than 'Wick in every aspect of the game. In addition, Springfield hasn't proven much, but I'm more impressed by their eight-point loss to Alfred than I am by IC's 14-point loss to Salisbury. Ultimately, those two factors made it impossible for me to move the Bombers up.

My thoughts:

Hartwick outgained IC, but they also ran 18 more plays than Ithaca. Most of the yardage difference can be chalked up to the fact that Ruffrage's kickoff return and the Wick recovering an onside kick kept IC's offense off the field for the entire 4th quarter.

Five sacks and five turnovers is a pretty solid defensive performance all things considered. I was disappointed Ithaca allowed the Wick to complete 60% of its passes, but the Bombers have been doing that for years, so what can ya do? They just don't play tight in the secondary. But they still had a shutout going until midway through the 4th quarter, and really, you can't ask for a lot more than that.

That said, I'm okay with IC behind Springfield. The Bombers are just not a complete team. They show flashes offensively, but they're simply not good enough on the offensive line. They had a chance to run out the clock against Hartwick by picking up one first down and failed to do so. They had an identical situation against Brockport and the same result transpired. Six carries in those situations netted seven yards. Welch is conservative by nature, but it should be clear that Ithaca does not have the line or the backs to just run it three times for 10 yards.

Even IC's lone "dominating" offensive performance was significantly helped by the IC defense and special teams making plays and handing the offense short fields. Now, I know Brockport's 0-4 isn't indicative of their level of play, and maybe the Cage is a mental thing for IC, but the Bombers have had two games where they kind of let teams they are better than hang around. The defense has bailed them out both times, but that's not going to fly against some of the better competition down the road. Springfield's played some pretty terrible teams, but at least they've consistently put their foot to the gas.

[dlippiel]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

decipher decipher decipher decipher decipher...I am practicing for further posts.   

[AUKaz00]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

decipher decipher decipher decipher decipher...I am practicing for further posts.   

We gauged that.

[SJFF82]

I dont think SJF should necessarily be ranked ahead of AU.  To do so ignores the fact that SJF was poor enough to lose by 32 at home on homecoming to a team not wearing purple (and with all due respect to AU, I dont mean Alfred).  It seems everyone gets caught up in the "if you beat someone you must be ranked ahead of them" syndrome.  We know that it is impossible when teams start knocking eachother off later in the season.  If AU were to show further signs of struggle against Wick this week and SJF handles IC, then an argument could  and should be made. 

[SJFF82]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

decipher decipher decipher decipher decipher...I am practicing for further posts.   

We gauged that.

NICE +K

[dlippiel]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

decipher decipher decipher decipher decipher...I am practicing for further posts.   

We gauged that.

NICE +K

gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, decipher, decipher, decipher, ...aw dlip gives ip! 

[pg04]

best gage to disceipher

This is a new level for you, dlip. Are you inhabited by the spirit of Superman57??

decipher decipher decipher decipher decipher...I am practicing for further posts.   

We gauged that.

NICE +K

gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, gauge, decipher, decipher, decipher, ...aw dlip gives ip! 

Wasn't Gage the baby's name in Pet Sematary (no I didn't spell that wrong, that's how the book's name is spelled!)? 

[Bombers798891]

I dont think SJF should necessarily be ranked ahead of AU.  To do so ignores the fact that SJF was poor enough to lose by 32 at home on homecoming to a team not wearing purple.  It seems everyone gets caught up in the "if you beat someone you must be ranked ahead of them" syndrome.  We know that it is impossible when teams start knocking eachother off later in the season.  If AU were to show further signs of struggle against Wick this week and SJF handles IC, then an argument could  and should be made.

The tricky thing with this, as we've seen in the NJAC, is that how a team plays and the end result sometimes differ. Fisher put together an amazing defensive performance, but offensively, they were pretty bad. If you want to take the simple fact that Fisher won by 14 as enough evidence to put them on top, okay, there's nothing wrong with that. But, I can also see the argument that, prior to that game, Alfred was comfortably ahead in the rankings, and Fisher's performance, while certainly a huge win, wasn't a performance that makes me entirely re-evaluate the Cardinals or Saxons. Certainly, it makes me re-think the Cardinals defensive prowess, but there still seem to be major issues offensively. (Which will no doubt not be present at Butterfield when Francis and Schmidt are running away from Conti and White)

Here's something I *have* thought about when thinking about the AU-SJF game: Is anyone else surprised Secky's not been better, career-wise?

2008: 59.1% completion, 2869 yards, 27 TD, 14 INT
2009: 63.8% completion, 1941 yards, 26 TD, 11 INT
2010: 58.6% completion, 2762 yards, 27 TD, 15 INT
2011: 57.3% completion, 716 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT

Now, don't sic your kazoos on me, guys. Secky has been a very good quarterback for four seasons, and Alfred's never going to be a team that runs up the score on people, and they've been blessed with some great running backs. And this seasons numbers are skewed because of that one bad game. But all that aside. I can't help shake this feeling that, back in 2008 and 2009, Secky was going to be the new standard bearer for E8 quarterbacks. Okay, he was never going to put up Boltus-like numbers, simply because Alfred wasn't that kind of team, but I thought, after his 2009 season, that he'd have a Tim Bailey '10, or a Josh Felliceti '05 or something similar these last two years. Some year where you just thought, "We better keep scoring, because we'll never stop Tom Secky." And that's never really materialized.

Of course, maybe that's just a failure on the part of me (us) as fans. We always tend to assume guys naturally will get better, even if they don't really. Some guys just play at a consistent, high level. Secky kind of reminds me of Jamie Donovan, one of my favorite Bombers. Donovan was so dominant at the tail end of 2004 when he became the full-time starter, but kind of got banged up and never really played at that level consistently again. He was always a very good back, and wound up IC's all-time leading rusher, but he never really made the leap. Again, this isn't a slight on either Donovan or Secky. Just a thought on a slow Tuesday

[sjfcards]

I dont think SJF should necessarily be ranked ahead of AU.  To do so ignores the fact that SJF was poor enough to lose by 32 at home on homecoming to a team not wearing purple.  It seems everyone gets caught up in the "if you beat someone you must be ranked ahead of them" syndrome.  We know that it is impossible when teams start knocking eachother off later in the season.  If AU were to show further signs of struggle against Wick this week and SJF handles IC, then an argument could  and should be made.

The tricky thing with this, as we've seen in the NJAC, is that how a team plays and the end result sometimes differ. Fisher put together an amazing defensive performance, but offensively, they were pretty bad. If you want to take the simple fact that Fisher won by 14 as enough evidence to put them on top, okay, there's nothing wrong with that. But, I can also see the argument that, prior to that game, Alfred was comfortably ahead in the rankings, and Fisher's performance, while certainly a huge win, wasn't a performance that makes me entirely re-evaluate the Cardinals or Saxons. Certainly, it makes me re-think the Cardinals defensive prowess, but there still seem to be major issues offensively. (Which will no doubt not be present at Butterfield when Francis and Schmidt are running away from Conti and White)

Here's something I *have* thought about when thinking about the AU-SJF game: Is anyone else surprised Secky's not been better, career-wise?

2008: 59.1% completion, 2869 yards, 27 TD, 14 INT
2009: 63.8% completion, 1941 yards, 26 TD, 11 INT
2010: 58.6% completion, 2762 yards, 27 TD, 15 INT
2011: 57.3% completion, 716 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT

Now, don't sic your kazoos on me, guys. Secky has been a very good quarterback for four seasons, and Alfred's never going to be a team that runs up the score on people, and they've been blessed with some great running backs. And this seasons numbers are skewed because of that one bad game. But all that aside. I can't help shake this feeling that, back in 2008 and 2009, Secky was going to be the new standard bearer for E8 quarterbacks. Okay, he was never going to put up Boltus-like numbers, simply because Alfred wasn't that kind of team, but I thought, after his 2009 season, that he'd have a Tim Bailey '10, or a Josh Felliceti '05 or something similar these last two years. Some year where you just thought, "We better keep scoring, because we'll never stop Tom Secky." And that's never really materialized.

Of course, maybe that's just a failure on the part of me (us) as fans. We always tend to assume guys naturally will get better, even if they don't really. Some guys just play at a consistent, high level. Secky kind of reminds me of Jamie Donovan, one of my favorite Bombers. Donovan was so dominant at the tail end of 2004 when he became the full-time starter, but kind of got banged up and never really played at that level consistently again. He was always a very good back, and wound up IC's all-time leading rusher, but he never really made the leap. Again, this isn't a slight on either Donovan or Secky. Just a thought on a slow Tuesday

An interesting thought on Secky. I will say this. The Tom Seckey I saw this past Saturday was not the Secky I saw last year against Fisher. In last years game at AU, my thought was that Fisher was the better team, but Secky was the difference maker. That he was that good, that even with Bailey Secky was going to/did put AU over the top.

This year I thought he looked rushed in his decision making, and a step slow. I don't know if that injury caused some issues, or if it was something else, but I did not expect to see what I saw.

Overall I think Secky is a really really big talent, and has the ability to take over any game he plays in. Some of his numbers are watered down by AU's balanced attack, and the fact that they will not run it up all over teams, but he can make some bad choices. Talent wise I think he is with the top QB's this conference has seen in the last several years, but stats are stats, and they don't lie to often.