FB: Empire 8

[Jonny Utah]

Haven't checked in on the boards in some time as I have begun the process of converting from a die hard Bomber fan to somewhat of an avid supporter.  Saw the Bombers pick up the W today against somewhat of a cupcake in Moravian.  Regardless, a shutout is always a good sign but I have a feeling the offense will have similar struggles as last year.  They also don't have the special teams quality as last year either. Don't get me wrong, with their caliber defense I think they can beat everyone in the league but each and every one of the games is going to be a hard fought win as scoring won't come easy. 

I'll check in from time to time and hopefully the Bombers can string together a couple of wins early in the season to put last year's record in the rear view mirror.  Go Bombers.

Adding to the negative/pessimistic side of the bombers, Ingrao had 7 catches and only one other player had more than one (Haines the rb).  Hopefully the bombers can spread the wealth in future games.  Maybe the online found some magic?

[pg04]

Well the E8 did go 7-0 today (Brockport) won as well.  Pretty good I guess.

Wow, great day for the E8. And I didn't expect Brockport to win given the two teams status last year, but the Brockport defense played really well (at least according to the stats I've seen).

Buffalo state doesn't shock me, they've been improving and improving. However, the way they did it seemed pretty shocking. Fisher escapes but that's all that really matters.

Outside the region. Mount Union rolls on by crushing a ranked team on the road. Just slightly disheartening!

Del Val was a shock to me, it will be interesting to see where both they and Rowan go from here.

[Upstate]

Absolutely smothering D by Fisher tonight. If they cut down on the dumb penalties they could be something special.

TMC's drive breakdown if you take out penalties:

3 plays, 4 yards (+5 on penalty)
11 plays, 82 yards (+9 on penalty)
3 plays, -6 yards
7 plays, 34 yards
4 plays, 9 yards (+15 on penalty)
3 plays, -1 yards
1 play, 0 yards
4 plays, 1 yards (+15 on penalty)
3 plays, -7 yards
3 plays, 2 yards
3 plays, -1 yards
4 plays, 0 yards

[pg04]

Also, to bring closure to the UB-UGA convo from last night. It ended up way closer than it should have been, but like I said in an earlier post, those early season games can become iffy.

Overall, I think UB is a better team than they were last year. Watch out for the QB and RB.

[dewcrew88]

Dew,
Good to see you back on.
I talked to Blaise not too long ago and he was happy with his senior laden team, but i am not as confident.
Losing weapons on O will hurt for sure!
Good luck this season, and win em all minus one!

Glad to be back, and as usual, I was wrong on both predictions! Awesome job by the E8 to go 7-0.

[dewcrew88]

Finally....chatter....
Not what I was looking for- but this will do

I was on for a minute, left again, and missed a dick-swinging contest.

[SaintsFAN]

I think Thomas More was above average defensively.  Very solid unit.  Fisher (and especially Kramer) made some crappy/rusty plays which did not help matters but TMC took advantage.  I think Fisher's defense completely stifled Thomas More's offense.  Outside of their scoring drive it was pretty brutal - especially in the 2nd half and overtime.  I haven't looked at the total yards but I am willing to bet it's not very close.  I can barely remember Thomas More getting first downs in the second half.  Saintsfan maybe you can help me out on this but are they traditionally more well known for their offensive or defensive prowess? 

I hope Fisher can turn it around offensively and quickly.  They started out sluggish last year as well and it took an ass kicking by Hobart to get them in gear.  I would also like to see these two teams play again, it was a fun game.  The Saints fans traveled light but they made each person count - they were pretty loud.  It made the atmosphere even more enjoyable. 

Oh and their punter was money all game long.  He was single handedly fighting the battle for field position in the second half for Thomas More.  I haven't seen a punter leave such an impression on a game in a very long time.

TMC has historically (since even the days when I played) has been known for running the football and stopping the run (any team that counts SF as an alum/ex QB, is automatically known as a defensive team).  They pride themselves on that.. No doubt the SJF defense stifled the TMC attack -- haven't seen that in the last 5 years, to be honest, outside of MHB.  Defensively, they were playing bend but not break and the athletes forced some turnovers.  Total yardage was 395 to 135.  Not close.. but that they hardly embarrassed themselves as has been said and will be fine.  Consider, this is a new offense with a new (first time offensive coordinator) with a QB making his 3rd career start.  Both the defense and the offense will be playing better in two weeks when they take the field again.

The game plan of the TMC offense was to get their athletes in space against the heavier SJF players.  The front 7 of SJF nixed that.  I think you all have alot to look forward to as far as defensively and also -- most offenses are well behind the defenses this time of year, so the SJF offensive attack will be fine as well.  I'd like to be able to say we lost by 6 in OT on the road to the East Region #1 (in the Regional Rankings).. but time will tell. 

Good luck the rest of the way, fellas... and we'll see you next year in KY in week 1.

[boobyhasgameyo]

I think Thomas More was above average defensively.  Very solid unit.  Fisher (and especially Kramer) made some crappy/rusty plays which did not help matters but TMC took advantage.  I think Fisher's defense completely stifled Thomas More's offense.  Outside of their scoring drive it was pretty brutal - especially in the 2nd half and overtime.  I haven't looked at the total yards but I am willing to bet it's not very close.  I can barely remember Thomas More getting first downs in the second half.  Saintsfan maybe you can help me out on this but are they traditionally more well known for their offensive or defensive prowess? 

I hope Fisher can turn it around offensively and quickly.  They started out sluggish last year as well and it took an ass kicking by Hobart to get them in gear.  I would also like to see these two teams play again, it was a fun game.  The Saints fans traveled light but they made each person count - they were pretty loud.  It made the atmosphere even more enjoyable. 

Oh and their punter was money all game long.  He was single handedly fighting the battle for field position in the second half for Thomas More.  I haven't seen a punter leave such an impression on a game in a very long time.

TMC has historically (since even the days when I played) has been known for running the football and stopping the run (any team that counts SF as an alum/ex QB, is automatically known as a defensive team).  They pride themselves on that.. No doubt the SJF defense stifled the TMC attack -- haven't seen that in the last 5 years, to be honest, outside of MHB.  Defensively, they were playing bend but not break and the athletes forced some turnovers.  Total yardage was 395 to 135.  Not close.. but that they hardly embarrassed themselves as has been said and will be fine.  Consider, this is a new offense with a new (first time offensive coordinator) with a QB making his 3rd career start.  Both the defense and the offense will be playing better in two weeks when they take the field again.

The game plan of the TMC offense was to get their athletes in space against the heavier SJF players.  The front 7 of SJF nixed that.  I think you all have alot to look forward to as far as defensively and also -- most offenses are well behind the defenses this time of year, so the SJF offensive attack will be fine as well.  I'd like to be able to say we lost by 6 in OT on the road to the East Region #1 (in the Regional Rankings).. but time will tell. 

Good luck the rest of the way, fellas... and we'll see you next year in KY in week 1.

Thanks for the breakdown SaintsFAN, +k for that.  So it is a home and home, I like that as well.  I'm going to be honest before this I had no idea Cincinnati was so close to Kentucky.  I knew it was in the southern portion of Ohio at least so props for that! 

I give their defense all the credit in the world for forcing the two fumbles, it's hard to argue otherwise.  But those two interceptions (and especially the second one in the endzone) were to me just awful throws.  Kramer threw them on the run as he so often does but they were flat out inaccurate.  I will admit though there must be something to the bend but not break idea.  After our first drive I thought we were going to steam roll them because we moved it so methodically.  Next thing I know it's the end of 4 quarters and we still had just the one touchdown to show for it.  I think if our defense can stay healthy going forward and give our offense time to catch up this will be a very good team. 

 

[sjfcards]

There was a lot to like from the defense last night, but I still have concerns about the offense. I know it was one game, against a quality team,  but Fisher struggles to move the ball at times. When they play Salisbury, Alfred, etc. they are going to need to be able to put points on the board. I think Kramer is by far the best player Fisher has, and I love him with the ball in his hands. However, I think Fisher would have so many more options in the playbook, if Fenti was the QB, and Kramer lined up at RB/slot receiver.

[AlfredSaxon8]

Definitely good to see the E8 winning out.  Week 1 is usually mixed with errant turnovers and poor decisions by both players and coaches.  So, for all the E8 teams to walk away with a "w", its a very positive note to start the season. 

Teams (usually) only get better as the season progresses (barring serious injuries) as they find a rhythm and begin to eliminate errors. Coaches will also progress and know what to call in varied situations, who to rely on and "go-to" plays.  So, given that, definitely a positive outlook for the E8 season.  No one played a "gimme" game so hopefully good things going forward! 

[ITH radio]

Saxon fans - we have the Coach Bodor of RPI (Alfred's season opener) dialing in at 8:25 pm tonight on In the HuddLLe.  We will be previewing RPI's game against the Saxons, so join us at www.inthehuddlle.com!

[fisherfanatic99]

I have different impressions of Kramer at qb. He made two bad decisions both were intercepted. But everyone questioned if he could get the ball down field and spread it and I think he showed he could. Offenses usually struggle first game but fisher put up 400+ yards on the 20th team in the country. Their defense is nasty but I think this offense could be great. I don't like 35 rushes by Kramer but overall turnovers can be changed and without them last night we would be talking different about fisher and Kramer. Kramer showed me a better arm and a warrior mentality last night, oh and finding a way to WIN (most importantly). He is easily fishers best chance as an offense, just gotta cut down on a couple mental mistakes. Tmc was a good squad that tackled well. I don't know if the fisher defense is that good or tmc has no offense. To me, their offense was awful. Overall, fisher dominated this game physically and if they cut down on their turnovers this season could be a very good year for the cardinals.

[Upstate]

I have different impressions of Kramer at qb. He made two bad decisions both were intercepted. But everyone questioned if he could get the ball down field and spread it and I think he showed he could. Offenses usually struggle first game but fisher put up 400+ yards on the 20th team in the country. Their defense is nasty but I think this offense could be great. I don't like 35 rushes by Kramer but overall turnovers can be changed and without them last night we would be talking different about fisher and Kramer. Kramer showed me a better arm and a warrior mentality last night, oh and finding a way to WIN (most importantly). He is easily fishers best chance as an offense, just gotta cut down on a couple mental mistakes. Tmc was a good squad that tackled well. I don't know if the fisher defense is that good or tmc has no offense. To me, their offense was awful. Overall, fisher dominated this game physically and if they cut down on their turnovers this season could be a very good year for the cardinals.

Agree that if they cut down on the turnovers they'll be in much better shape in games but Kramer has got to learn to just throw the ball away at times.  If he's rolling out and doesn't see anyone open just throw it away, the first pick was a clear example of that.  Another example was the sack he took late in the game that was killer, no reason to try to and spin and run back across the field when there are guys all around you.  I know it, you know it and I know that he knows it as well and that is what is makes you want to rip your hair out. 

One thing that really bothers me is the O-line play.  It's been a staple for Fisher teams for the past decade that they have big, strong and athletic kids that are really good. They were good in the run game last night but pass blocking for the most part was atrocious last night.  Kramer saved their bacon with his scrambling ability at least 5-6 times. 

[fisheralum91]

I agree that there were a few items that need to be addressed, but this team is going to be fine.
That i truely believe!

[Upstate]

I agree that there were a few items that need to be addressed, but this team is going to be fine.
That i truely believe!

I think they'll still go 9-1 but it's going to be a 9-1 that makes you want to pull your hair out...