FB: Liberty League

[Doid23]

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2011/08/preseason-top-25


-Union, dlip's true love, will struggle in 2011 but should eclipse their two win season in 2010.

Well, it's officially one hundred and wtf down here in Dallas, so I'm a little cranky. But if they don't win 4 games this year, I'm pulling my donation to Union Athletics.  All $250 of it. I aint kidding, I'll do it.

And yes, the level of expectations for the Dutchmen has fallen to a sad level. Talk about lowering the bar...

Most rational people would understand that I was joking. I was responding to dlip, but should have realized how you are.  Get a life.

[Frank Rossi]

"I ain't kidding" = a joke.  Oh, ok.  Sure.


(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

[pg04]

Can't we all get along?  

I would agree sometimes things get a little too serious around here...  (Like when I caused U89 to leave the board LOL  )

[Frank Rossi]

Can't we all get along?  

I would agree sometimes things get a little too serious around here...  (Like when I caused U89 to leave the board LOL  )

From that day forward, you escaped any consideration for putzdom in my book.  Just sayin'

[hazzben]

I said mono benched Strang.

[EDIT: Also, in speaking with the Union coaches after the loss, they were definitely surprised at Vella not starting.  That changed the entire defensive strategy since Vella was a known quantity that didn't throw with much efficiency.  Obviously, Strang was a much different animal.  I used it in an evaluation of Strang and the fact that when teams begin to prep for his type of offense, it won't be AS easy to score as it seemed to be for him that day.  Once Union adjusted, he also started throwing interceptions in the second half.  This wasn't an evaluation of Union/Hobart '10, but an attempt to figure out Strang's potential in '11 across the board.  Thanks for playing, though.]

The backup surprisingly starting can definitely affect defensive strategy. Yeah, the starter is supposed to be better, but if the backup at QB plays a significantly different type of ball, that totally messes with a game plan the staff has spent an entire week implementing.

Case in point. I was on the defensive staff for Bethel in the 07 playoffs when we faced UW Eau Claire in the second round. Their starter didn't play and their backup was an (All-WIAC I believe) WR. He was a run first and run second type QB and totally different style from the normal #1. It absolutely affected how we played them and we had to change our entire strategy on the fly. All that to say, sometimes it can work in a teams favor. But that all depends on the backup actually being a different style player and actually having some game. Neither of which is always the case.

[Doid23]

"I ain't kidding" = a joke.  Oh, ok.  Sure.


(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

Oh, no, Frank put me in putzdom. Seriously, how old are you? Are you going to tell your mother next?

[mattvsmith]

Not to be negative about my beloved Statesmen, but The Rev thinks it is going to be a ho-hum year.

Not bad, just the kind of year that people will say is like "treading water." The Rev thinks 6-2 or 5-3.

Individually, the players will all be up in respectable performance territory, but as a team The Rev thinks that the erratic schedule will prevent the team from jelling properly. Then again, The Rev could be very wrong and the additional practice time could allow the Statesmen to prepare a devastating upset against SJF. You never know. That's one of the beauties of sports and life; you just never know until it happens.

[Frank Rossi]

"I ain't kidding" = a joke.  Oh, ok.  Sure.


(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

Oh, no, Frank put me in putzdom. Seriously, how old are you? Are you going to tell your mother next?

Already did.  But since she's your age, her paddle will only work so well.

(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

[lewdogg11]

"I ain't kidding" = a joke.  Oh, ok.  Sure.


(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

Oh, no, Frank put me in putzdom. Seriously, how old are you? Are you going to tell your mother next?

Already did.  But since she's your age, her paddle will only work so well.

(...and you still didn't address the questions on the table, so you shall remain in putzdom.)

This entire argument is ridiculous.  Here is the original quote:

Well, it's officially one hundred and wtf down here in Dallas, so I'm a little cranky. But if they don't win 4 games this year, I'm pulling my donation to Union Athletics.  All $250 of it. I aint kidding, I'll do it.

I doubt there is a single reader here that did not pick up on the sarcasm and 'tongue-in-cheek' manner to this post.  It was blatantly obvious. 

Correction, there is 1 person here who didn't pick up on it.  Frank.

Frank, why do you insist on always taking things to a personal level?  Not everyone can spin every situation into optimism.  In speaking for a lot of alumni, I DON'T CARE what hurdles the team and coaching staff have to deal with.  I don't care about the excuses(and yes, I read Audino's Gridiron club letter, where he didn't want to make ANY excuses, then proceeded to made 4,356 excuses in a row.  (Here is the link if anyone wants to read it.  It's quite nauseating.  http://unionathletics.com/documents/2011/7/20/UnionFDGC_2011Newsletter-RGB.pdf?id=1678)), ALL we care about are results.  Expectations for RPI, Hobart, Union, Ithaca, Fisher, Cortland, etc etc etc alumni, are that they EXPECT their teams to win.  Anything less than that is a letdown.  I don't want to hear excuses.  Just fix it and right the ship.  Don't tell me about injuries, bad bounces, bad calls, etc....make it better.  And there is no better time to start than ASAP.  That is it.  You don't need to take that and then go and personally attack people.  It just doesn't make any sense, and it's going to turn people off more than anything.

When you are being a football fan and a source of information on here, you are fine.  When you start being a homer, you are unbearable.

[Garnet]

A little K for LD

When I read doid's comment, I knew he was joking. 

As Sgt. Hulka said, "lighten up Francis!"

[Frank Rossi]

Since you're such a great historian, LD, maybe we should drag out the actual crux of this argument, not the one apparently your A.D.D. skipped over in the first place so you could come out swinging:

The biggest problem for Hobart would be what I call "Union 2010 Syndrome" -- specifically, a schedule from hell.  Union started with Ithaca on the road and waited two weeks before facing another team (LL foe Rochester).  There was no ability for Union to gain an in-game rhythm compared to other teams down the middle part of the season, making the injuries magnify themselves.  I think we learned the value of important tests mixed with some softer teams early on to help teams learn to click as a team.  Union lacked it all season last year.

Where did I say in that quote that Union went 2-7 solely because of schedule?  And honestly, you're a hypocrite.  You're the first one on here who cries about his team's bad scheduling and how it doesn't give his team a chance normally to get better or get the right flow.  I made the more generic point that major gaps in schedules with no rhyme or reason in selection or spread of OOC opponents does not help teams form any sort of rhythm.  Doid goes and actually proves my own point when he shows Union wins games vs. Rochester and WPI (Weeks 4 and 5 -- Games 2 and 3) by one possession or less each.  So, please show me where I've "made excuses" in this argument concerning Union.  YOU CAN'T.  Doid is having an argument with himself and not answering the points that led to the entire discussion.  

(And he must suck as a comedian since nobody laughed and there were crickets in here after he made his comment.  Good try being supportive after the fact, though.)  

Even the discussion concerning Strang was a fact-based discussion used to support an opinion concerning Hobart's 2011 strength.  Yeah, Hobart gained over 600 yards that day (50 in the two OTs) [EDIT: As I sit back and remember that game, Hobart actually turned the ball over in the first OT, so it wasn't 50 yards in the 2OTs for them] with Strang collecting 5 TDs passing and one on the ground.  He also threw FOUR interceptions.  Those interceptions came mainly in the second half -- following adjustments.  The whole point there was that we don't know how good or bad Strang is since it was one game (and Hazzben gave us a pretty good example backing up my point re: Strang), and I'm not ready to ordain Hobart LL champ this year based on their holes, their schedule, a one-game starter as QB and some of the focus-based issues we discussed.  A simple statement was backed up with my reasons.  Again, where am I making excuses for anyone?  Here, you want to hear how I put together the game recap?  It's pretty much a credit to Strang, especially in the end where I tally the results:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtcJ9kP7ZXo

Finally, as for your homer garbage -- I don't know, LD.  I seem to be the one who has been out in front saying that while your coach selection may have been cause for concern (and the way the Coach King scenario was handled was obviously not pretty), that we need to give Landis a chance.  That's a lot more than I can say for your alumni that I've heard from over the past several months.  So, yeah, the guy who's this huge "homer" is supporting that school's arch-rival's coaches and always pays homage to that arch-rival's former players, even on our own game broadcasts (Jimmy Robertson was our halftime guest at Union/RPI last year).

As for you, I don't know what you are sometimes?  You tool on every team somewhat equally, but especially your own.  Maybe that makes you a Remoh.

[lewdogg11]

I don't have a problem with most of your posts or your knowledge, dedication, passion, etc etc, but you have this knack, that whenever someone says something negative without providing 47 different examples, you name call and jump all over the person.  And it's pretty much geared towards the Union supporters on here for the most part.  All i'm saying is that some of these guys really want to see the program do well and they support the program, but they might not have the 'inside knowledge' or the time to break everything down.  They simply want to see success on the field, and they express that opinion on a message board, like many fans do all over the country on various message boards.  And this isn't the court room.  We don't all have time to provide a million pieces of evidence at all times, and we simply use our opinions or gut feelings.  You seem to focus on one Union supporter here and there and go after them hard, just like with what happened with U89.  I don't know Doid at all.  But in reading his post, I just didn't see a reason for him to get jumped on like that, and frankly(no pun intended), it takes the fun out of this place.

[gordonmann]

Not to be negative about my beloved Statesmen, but The Rev thinks it is going to be a ho-hum year.  Not bad, just the kind of year that people will say is like "treading water." The Rev thinks 6-2 or 5-3.

Rev:

Someone asked me yesterday to predict Hobart's record and I came up with 6-2.  But I do having them winning the league with that mark.

[Frank Rossi]

I don't have a problem with most of your posts or your knowledge, dedication, passion, etc etc, but you have this knack, that whenever someone says something negative without providing 47 different examples, you name call and jump all over the person.  And it's pretty much geared towards the Union supporters on here for the most part.  All i'm saying is that some of these guys really want to see the program do well and they support the program, but they might not have the 'inside knowledge' or the time to break everything down.  They simply want to see success on the field, and they express that opinion on a message board, like many fans do all over the country on various message boards.  And this isn't the court room.  We don't all have time to provide a million pieces of evidence at all times, and we simply use our opinions or gut feelings.  You seem to focus on one Union supporter here and there and go after them hard, just like with what happened with U89.  I don't know Doid at all.  But in reading his post, I just didn't see a reason for him to get jumped on like that, and frankly(no pun intended), it takes the fun out of this place.

I can appreciate this post a lot more and appreciate the point you make in it here.  However, remember something (and I said it a week or so ago) -- I WANT THE TEAM TO WIN, TOO.  And honestly, when it comes to OOC games, I want all LL teams to win those.  All I'm asking Doid to do is take a step back and realize that my points concerning Union weren't a set of excuses for Union 2010 -- it was a discussion about Hobart 2011.  The schedule didn't help matters at all, but there were some systemic problems beyond scheduling and injuries that helped lead to 2-7.  I actually do encourage him to call John Audino to hear what he has to say and what can be done by an alum like him to help.  Tearing up his $250 check in a textual manner isn't helpful -- be it a joke or not.  And like I said, that statement (joke or not) surprised me coming from him since I generally (believe it or not, Doid) enjoy and appreciate his contributions here, even in the discourse.

And, c'mon Lew, don't tell me it's not fun -- you love tooling on me.  It's become a hobby at times.  You go all comedian, I go all lawyer, everyone sits back with popcorn and a soda and they laugh their asses off at you and look at me as the heavy.  I've got no problem with that.  At the end of the day, you're right in that my goal here is informational and correcting what I perceive are shallow opinions with no bases in fact.  I think you did neglect that along the Doid argument, I did launch into some side humor ("putzdom", tooling on Doid's age compared to my 73yo mom, etc.).  I really DON'T take myself that seriously.  I laugh sometimes at how seriously you guys take me!

[mattvsmith]

Rev:

Someone asked me yesterday to predict Hobart's record and I came up with 6-2.  But I do having them winning the league with that mark.

Interesting. That would be quite a feat if it really happened that way.
I hope we remember this prediction come play-off time.