East Region Playoff Discussion

[Bombers798891]

[quote author=Upstate link=topic=4930.msg1555936#msg1555936 date=1385071972

St. John Fisher - 37
John Carroll - 31 F/OT
Huge homer pick and I don't care, Fisher gets a pick 6 in OT to meet up with Hobart in the 2nd round!

Framingham St. - 10
Ithaca - 20
-ICs defense and special teams carry the Bombers to the 2nd round!

[/quote]

See you guys in the Stagg Bowl. Try to remember to bring a kick coverage unit this time. Sam Carney can't play defense if he's winded from the opening kickoff

[Boxer7806]

Lewdogg11 is ready to make some bold playoff predictions.  Here goes...

Gallaudet - 7
Hobart - 70
I see this going a lot like Alfred/SUNY Maritime a few years back.  I anticipate Hobart getting up big quick, then calling off the dogs for a late Gallaudet score.

St. John Fisher - 21
John Carroll - 31
I'm pulling hard here for Fisher and I think Fisher, if they put it all together, can pull out an upset.  But being conservative and playing the odds, I think JCU handles them.

Lebanon Valley - 21
Wittenberg - 35
Honestly, I have no idea on this one.  Wittenberg is an unknown for me.  Hobart beat them up last year, and Ali Marpet had a HUGE game and impressed some Whitt fans.  But d3.com thinks pretty highly of these Wittenburgers, so I think they bring the noise.

Framingham St. - 17
Ithaca - 24
This game scare me a little.  I think Framingham got a good matchup here and Ithaca got a bit of a trap game thrown at them again.  I'll say this, I will NOT be surprised if Framingham wins, but my heart tells me Ithaca wins in a monkeystomp.

Endicott - 17
Rowan - 35
Much like above, I think Endicott got a favorable draw with a game where they can compete.  Rowan seems to be bi-polar.  Based on some comparative scores and Endicott's terrible schedule, I think Rowan wins pretty big.

First off nice GWH pic! Love that whole ****ing scene! Secondly dlip thinks your picks are quite good. He can't say he really disagrees with any of them. The one game that scares dlip as well is IC/Framingham. dlip will say this time and again, the loss to a rival in the last week of the season can be incredibly deflating. Dlip thinks FS is a decent squad and with the playoff experience he thinks they will win this one. dlip is really hoping he is wrong here...really.

dlip is also pulling huge...iamhuge...for SJF against Carroll. Seems if if Carroll's O is nasty having given the UMU defense fits (which is basically unheard of). SJF is going to have it's hands full for sure and if Fenti isn't a ****ing monster they will lose.

Endicott/Rowan: if Rowan loses this game than **** them! dlip will be so pissed at this team that each year he picks high and each year he watches them underachieve with a very talented roster.

Dlip I'm calling you out here for a second. I'm a NEFC/MASCAC guy, but I thought I've seen you say before that the East needs the Framingham / Endicott of the world to schedule tough out of conference match ups and win some games in the playoffs. IF Framingham wins, wouldn't that be a good thing since they did go out and schedule two playoff teams from this year? Doesn't it show they are getting better and scheduling tougher teams? In my opinion, even though its not much, outside of Horbart, I don't think the Liberty League is really better than the NEFC/MASCAC conferences as a whole. Now whether that is because the Liberty League is down (which i think it is) or the smaller New England schools have become better (a little bit), that is an argument for another day.

I just think its good that the New England teams who made the playoffs, actually went out and scheduled quality teams. Even though Kean was not great this year, they have been a competitive to above competitive team in the NJAC recently , so I do give kudos to Endicott going out and playing them this year, despite Kean's below average season.

[dlippiel]

Fair enough boxer Regarding Dlip's comments towards Framingham and hoping he is wrong with his pick, that mostly has to do with Dlip's being a fan of the Bombers. Honestly, and Dlip has said this before, he basically roots for the Bombers against any opponent besides his beloved Union Dutchmen. His picking of Framingham to win is based upon this programs maturation and success I've the past few seasons.

Regarding Rowan/Endicott that is all about Dlip's frustration with the Profs and how IDHO they continue to be inconsistent as hell even with a plethora of talent year in and year out.

[Craft_Beermeister]

Lewdogg11 is ready to make some bold playoff predictions.  Here goes...

Gallaudet - 7
Hobart - 70
I see this going a lot like Alfred/SUNY Maritime a few years back.  I anticipate Hobart getting up big quick, then calling off the dogs for a late Gallaudet score.

St. John Fisher - 21
John Carroll - 31
I'm pulling hard here for Fisher and I think Fisher, if they put it all together, can pull out an upset.  But being conservative and playing the odds, I think JCU handles them.

Lebanon Valley - 21
Wittenberg - 35
Honestly, I have no idea on this one.  Wittenberg is an unknown for me.  Hobart beat them up last year, and Ali Marpet had a HUGE game and impressed some Whitt fans.  But d3.com thinks pretty highly of these Wittenburgers, so I think they bring the noise.

Framingham St. - 17
Ithaca - 24
This game scare me a little.  I think Framingham got a good matchup here and Ithaca got a bit of a trap game thrown at them again.  I'll say this, I will NOT be surprised if Framingham wins, but my heart tells me Ithaca wins in a monkeystomp.

Endicott - 17
Rowan - 35
Much like above, I think Endicott got a favorable draw with a game where they can compete.  Rowan seems to be bi-polar.  Based on some comparative scores and Endicott's terrible schedule, I think Rowan wins pretty big.

First off nice GWH pic! Love that whole ****ing scene! Secondly dlip thinks your picks are quite good. He can't say he really disagrees with any of them. The one game that scares dlip as well is IC/Framingham. dlip will say this time and again, the loss to a rival in the last week of the season can be incredibly deflating. Dlip thinks FS is a decent squad and with the playoff experience he thinks they will win this one. dlip is really hoping he is wrong here...really.

dlip is also pulling huge...iamhuge...for SJF against Carroll. Seems if if Carroll's O is nasty having given the UMU defense fits (which is basically unheard of). SJF is going to have it's hands full for sure and if Fenti isn't a ****ing monster they will lose.

Endicott/Rowan: if Rowan loses this game than **** them! dlip will be so pissed at this team that each year he picks high and each year he watches them underachieve with a very talented roster.

John Carol's Meyers is a good QB with a strong arm, but from what I saw in the Mount Union game he tends to force the ball into tight coverage and on some longer throws for some reason he throws rainbows though it seems like he should have the arm for passing with much better trajectory.  The JCU receivers have very good hands, but didn't seem to get much separation except for when Meyers checked down to receivers in a shorter zone.  If SJF's DBs can have tight coverage and fight for the ball there could be turnover opportunities.  Meyers is a tall QB and though less mobile than Mount Union's Burke Mount wasn't able to get much pressure on him though JCU threw the ball a lot in the game.  One time in the 4th quarter of last week's game Mount had considerable pressure on Meyers which resulted in Meyers fumbling and jumping on the loose ball.  The Mount defender immediately jumped on the QB and Meyers seemed shook up for several plays only to get bailed out by a very questionable pass interference call on a badly thrown pass on 4th and extremely long.  After getting a first down gift deep in their own territory was able to regain his composure.  My point is that I think that with enough pressure Meyers can be rattled, plus he did bailout from a Div 1 team so in the right circumstances he might have some quit in him though I'm not sure how much he has been tested in the past.

[pumkinattack]

Who's Horbart?  I don't recall playing them in conference this year. (Says the fattest fingered PDA writer who never spell checks anything that isn't business related)

[Jonny Utah]

Who's Horbart?  I don't recall playing them in conference this year. (Says the fattest fingered PDA writer who never spell checks anything that isn't business related)

Ha.  I have an Iphone that I might have to get rid of since my fingers are too fat to text on the dam thing!

[Boxer7806]

Who's Horbart?  I don't recall playing them in conference this year. (Says the fattest fingered PDA writer who never spell checks anything that isn't business related)

Sometimes my fingers get a little crazy...

[hobart16]

Looks like Bombers 798891 picked up a few bucks from the bookies in Vegas with his picks this weekend. 

[ITH radio]

Last night's podcast including SC SR FB Joel Altavesta on his MVP performance in the ECAC NA Bowl, SR OLB Devin Worthington of Hobart on the GU game and previewing SJFC, why IC shouldn't be hosting in Rd 2 and more:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ith/2013/11/24/in-the-huddlle--liberty-league-football-talk-show

[@d3jason]

I think the seeding in the Mount Union bracket is a bit more clear now. Framingham was the three seed but couldn't host. Just my guess and then geographic proximity b/c Wittanberg and Wesley were too far?

1. Mount Union
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Framingham St
4. Wittenberg
5. Wesley
6. Ithaca
7. Lebanon Valley
8. Washington and Jefferson

[ITH radio]

Yeah, that could be it.  Springfield, OH to Dover, DE is over 500 miles.  Google maps shows it anywhere from 524 to 550 pending the route you take.

[wesleydad]

I think the seeding in the Mount Union bracket is a bit more clear now. Framingham was the three seed but couldn't host. Just my guess and then geographic proximity b/c Wittanberg and Wesley were too far?

1. Mount Union
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Framingham St
4. Wittenberg
5. Wesley
6. Ithaca
7. Lebanon Valley
8. Washington and Jefferson

now that makes more sense than anything else I have heard.  Still screws Hopkins though.

[Frank Rossi]

I think the seeding in the Mount Union bracket is a bit more clear now. Framingham was the three seed but couldn't host. Just my guess and then geographic proximity b/c Wittanberg and Wesley were too far?

1. Mount Union
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Framingham St
4. Wittenberg
5. Wesley
6. Ithaca
7. Lebanon Valley
8. Washington and Jefferson

I would've said:

1. Mount Union

2. Johns Hopkins (We know the first two automatically.)

3. Wittenberg (9-0 in "Region" and respectable SOS.)

4. Framingham State (One loss, but to an RRO -- Rowan -- and very good SOS.)

5. Wesley (Two losses, but extreme SOS.  Not placed above Framingham St. based on Framingham's very good SOS and 9-1 record.  Both lost to Rowan by nearly identical amounts.)

6. Ithaca (Win vs. RRO -- SJF -- placed team above remaining two.  SOS well below Wesley.)

7. Lebanon Valley (Was behind Ithaca in last seen Regional Rankings and the losses were equal, meaning no reason to swap, although Lycoming may have become an RRO in final unseen rankings.)

8. Washington & Jefferson (If Lycoming was an RRO, it would explain the 7/8 ordering better since W&J had a better SOS than LebVal.)

Note that because of the location of Wittenberg, Mount Union, Wittenberg, Lebanon Valley and W&J had to be podded together to avoid any Second Round flight -- as per the new NCAA's budgeting requirements.  The question concerning the ordering of JHU/ITH/FS/WES is an interesting one.  My inclination is this: the Committee viewed Wesley and Ithaca as virtually identical seeds -- you could balance them in either direction and have valid arguments either way.  As such, and in order to not force Framingham State, as a higher seed that couldn't host, to travel a huge distance, they lined up the teams in a way that left Wesley for nearby JHU and left Framingham for nearby Ithaca.  They are not required to strictly follow seedings, but my guesstimate is it ended up as the above if they were forced to seed.

[Jonny Utah]

Anyone know why Framingham couldn't host?

And how do we know that Wittenberg isn't the #2 seed?  How do we know the first 2 automatically?

[Frank Rossi]

Anyone know why Framingham couldn't host?

And how do we know that Wittenberg isn't the #2 seed?  How do we know the first 2 automatically?

The attempt has been in the last couple seasons to have the Committee choose the top 8 teams and guarantee them 1s and 2s -- and place them in the bracket (in normal 1/2 positions) before building the matchups around them.  Brad Bankston, last year's Committee Chair, indicated that process was being used on 'In the HuddLLe," and Duey Naatz, this year's Chair, suggested that they hadn't changed that approach.  Looking at the pure numbers, Hopkins was slightly better than Witt in SOS and had a slightly better overall resume in my view (I considered this earlier -- but it still fits the 1/2 bracketing situation correctly).

As for Framingham State -- looks like the stands and lack of press area probably made them non-compliant, and they didn't want to host offsite.