LL in game updates

[pg04]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD.

This was not an impressive game.  If Hobart plays like this next week, they can begin to look at the word "Co" next weekend, as in "Co-Champs" of the LL.  After 3 good halves (RPI game, Union 1st half), there have been three halves of mediocre to bad play.  The reason I propelled Hobart up my ballot is because of a consistency question.  That said, the consistency is getting shaky.  In 2006, Union beat Hobart to win the LL, lost the next week to RPI in a rivalry game and lost ugly to SJF in the first round.  It's time to make a statement next week as the team approaches the playoffs. 

Happy for my Hobart friends that they have 9-0 to cheer on right now, but I don't want to see this team at 10-1 when they're representing the LL in the playoffs.

I have a tendency to be pessimistic but even I think this is a little over the top. They were up 34-7 with like 4 minutes left. They may have let up but still. They could end up losing next week but I don't believe the consistency is quite as bad as you are portraying here.

[Frank Rossi]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD.

This was not an impressive game.  If Hobart plays like this next week, they can begin to look at the word "Co" next weekend, as in "Co-Champs" of the LL.  After 3 good halves (RPI game, Union 1st half), there have been three halves of mediocre to bad play.  The reason I propelled Hobart up my ballot is because of a consistency question.  That said, the consistency is getting shaky.  In 2006, Union beat Hobart to win the LL, lost the next week to RPI in a rivalry game and lost ugly to SJF in the first round.  It's time to make a statement next week as the team approaches the playoffs. 

Happy for my Hobart friends that they have 9-0 to cheer on right now, but I don't want to see this team at 10-1 when they're representing the LL in the playoffs.

'Co-Champs' as in Union beats RPI and Rochester beats Hobart?  If both of those things happen, there's a good chance the Mayans were right and we should really enjoy this last month of existence.

I'm beginning to think you've been plagiarizing your ERFP Top 10 ballot from somewhere and mailing it in all season.  Or it could be further evidence that RPI sucks.  I'll ponder for seven days and get back to you.

(..and so kicks off Shoes Week)

[Frank Rossi]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD.

This was not an impressive game.  If Hobart plays like this next week, they can begin to look at the word "Co" next weekend, as in "Co-Champs" of the LL.  After 3 good halves (RPI game, Union 1st half), there have been three halves of mediocre to bad play.  The reason I propelled Hobart up my ballot is because of a consistency question.  That said, the consistency is getting shaky.  In 2006, Union beat Hobart to win the LL, lost the next week to RPI in a rivalry game and lost ugly to SJF in the first round.  It's time to make a statement next week as the team approaches the playoffs. 

Happy for my Hobart friends that they have 9-0 to cheer on right now, but I don't want to see this team at 10-1 when they're representing the LL in the playoffs.

I have a tendency to be pessimistic but even I think this is a little over the top. They were up 34-7 with like 4 minutes left. They may have let up but still. They could end up losing next week but I don't believe the consistency is quite as bad as you are portraying here.

The concern in this game, as I watched the PbP and listened to parts of the second half is that the pass defense wasn't crisp IMHO.  This is odd because the secret to beating Hobart was a proficient running game (see Darnell Thomas and the Merchant Marine game for some evidence).  SLU has virtually no running game this season, and there should've been no secret as to what SLU would bring offensively.  That's what was surprising me all game long.  And that's what I'm looking at here in terms of consistency.

Now, congrats to Strang for shaking off the INT that led to a TD for SLU -- he bailed out the offense eventually.  That said, posting 350 rush yards vs. Union on turf vs. today's less-than-half-of-that performance on wet grass wasn't exactly consistency either.

It comes down to this:  the expectation is that this Hobart team has the ability to be somewhere between 2005 Union in strength and 2003 RPI in playoff depth.  Those teams will tell you, though, that sure, luck wins some games in a perfect season -- but so does all-around team play.  Rochester is a playoff warm-up game.  This is a chance to get the cylinders in sync.  This team needs to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop (the whole "Hobart always loses one game" mentality) and start attacking teams with the all-around ability they have.  Enough of this "we're just happy to be here" thing -- come out like you're convinced you're going to win that game no matter who is on the field.  That's been the secret of the top teams I've seen and called for the last decade.  It's time to start emulating that.  This team DOES have that ability.  This isn't as much pessimism as it is a kick in the a@@.

[pumkinattack]

First off, congrats to Hobart for locking up the playoff bid, effectively the title, despite playing a sh**ty game.  I know you guys had to drive up in the morning and missing Auriemma matters, but can't play a bad half like that.  Too much at stake. 

Now, 2005 Union:

2005 season

9/10 vs. Springfield• W, 35-7

9/17 at Muhlenberg W, 22-14

9/24 at Rochester * • W, 41-28

10/1 at Merchant Marine * • W, 23-17

10/8 vs. WPI * • W, 31-3

10/15 at Franklin and Marshall W, 14-10

10/22 vs. Coast Guard * • W, 7-0

10/29 at St. Lawrence * • W, 40-21

11/5 vs. Hobart * • W, 28-18

11/12 vs. RPI * • W, 49-42

11/19 vs. Ithaca W, 55-41

11/26 vs. Rowan L, 28-24

2003 RPI

9/13 at Utica• W, 17-6

9/20 vs. Coast Guard• W, 44-7

9/27 at WPI• W, 34-26

10/4 vs. Rochester * • W, 47-26

10/11 vs. Union * • W, 33-7

10/25 at Hartwick• W, 52-7

11/1 at St. John Fisher• W, 24-17

11/8 at St. Lawrence * • W, 55-0

11/15 vs. Hobart * • L, 43-25

11/22 vs. Curry W, 34-20

11/29 at Springfield W, 40-34

12/6 vs. Ithaca W, 21-16

12/13 at St. John's L, 38-10

Considering Hobart beat RPI soundly in 2003 and Union barely won 3 or 4 weeks in 2005, I don't see anything in Hobart's season to date which needs to be apologized for compared with these two seasons.  And while Hobart needs to get past the second round (which Union didn't do in 2005) for a number of reasons (to us Hobart fans anyway), they've always acquitted themselves to the best of their ability in playoff games (were outmatched in 2000, 2004 & 2008 second round games, truthfully, and the losses in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011 were all solid games) at all times.  I know you, Frank, like to be controversial, but that's way overboard.  PG's correct, they got 115 of their 249 yards, or nearly half, after the 3:22 minute mark in the 4th quarter when it was 34-7.  To suggest that there's some issue here is attempting to create something where there's nothing. 

[Frank Rossi]

And as always, PA, you hopelessly miss the point.  I didn't say they were worse than those teams.  I said that the expectations assume a strength like Union 2005 and playoff depth like RPI 2003.  Those seem to be the two teams that most people feel were historic in the days of the actual LL.  I also stated I believe they have that ability to go that deep -- yet, you don't get there on merit alone.  However, two bad halves in a row and a mediocre one in the second half today aren't what Hobart is made of this year.  Nothing requires an apology.  Actions speak louder than words anyway -- and my point is to pull it together completely for the sake of the team and the League. 

More than anything else, please stop making it about me, and understand that I'm just giving an assessment like a pundit about a game that I witnessed and called, a game that I paid close attention to today, any comparisons from the rest of the season which I did read and write scripts concerning all season long.  I cohosted and coproduced a show about the league for five seasons now. It should be clear to anyone that I am here promoting the league and cheerleading for the league as much as anybody. Thank you for your understanding.

[dlippiel]

Dlip politely disagrees and sides with Frank here. Here is why pa. Dlip thinks his comparison to the 2005 Dutchmen and 2003 Engineers is somewhat accurate in terms of the words he used (paraphrasing here) Union's strength and RPI's deep playoff run. First Union 2005 was a ****ing offensive powerhouse. No bull**** they could have threatened a team like MUC with their O that season. Second he references RPI's deep playoff run. The run was to the semi's. Now dlip knows you know this but he states it because of the point Frank made. This Bart team has the offensive power close to Union of 2005 and the potential being so well balanced to make a deep playoff run (like RPI of 2003).

Hobart also has some lofty expectations on them now because of this potential and their performance against Wesley last year with a backup Pumpkinhead playing behind center. What dlip thinks Frank is saying is that IF this Bart team (that looks to have many of the components of the aforementioned LL teams) is to be successful they need to start clicking on all cylinders before the playoffs. His Union 2006 comparison is even more accurate. That loss to RPI was ****ing devastating and deflated Union so much so that they had thei ass handed to them by an SJF team they should have been able to be more competitive with the following week in the NCAA's.

The overall thought being that Bart is carrying the hopes of the east and LL on their backs.   If they have a poor showing in the NCAAS it will reflect poorly on the LL nad East as a whole. Their is merit to that. Every year we (us ER dies hards) place our hopes on the back of usually one team. This year Bart is it.

[mattvsmith]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD

I was grasping at straws to find something positive to say. Please don't ruin moment by ripping the blinders off. Thank you.

[mattvsmith]

Did someone say that Hobart drove up to Canton that morning? What's up with that? Awful. That road trip is bad enough the night before. Now I understand why they seemed catatonic in the first half.

Hobart will perform again Rochester next week. I will declare that I won't stay up and then stay awake. 

[Frank Rossi]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD

I was grasping at straws to find something positive to say. Please don't ruin moment by ripping the blinders off. Thank you.

Sorry, Rev.  At least you didn't go into a tirade this season.  Your heart doctor appreciates it

[mattvsmith]

Final score 34-14. Gee whiz. After the offense came apart at the seams on the second to last drive, defense answered with a remarkable goal line stand. I have to hand it tongue Statesmen D. They could have let SLU score and Hobart still would have won. But they stopped SLU in their tracks. That impressed me.

That kind of ignores the 50-yard pass that landed SLU at the doorstep, though.  And the previous drive TD

I was grasping at straws to find something positive to say. Please don't ruin moment by ripping the blinders off. Thank you.

Sorry, Rev.  At least you didn't go into a tirade this season.  Your heart doctor appreciates it

This game almost made me lose my cool. After SLU scored first, I was on the verge of a stroke, but I had faith in the Statesmen and in Coach Cragg to light a fire during halftime. It was a rough game, but its over. Now to focus on Rochester.

[pumkinattack]

I would argue you guys are missing the point.  I remember both seasons very well and both teams did just fine in the playoffs despite worse or more lackluster regular seasons.  And every year that Hobart's blown a game in the regular season they've still played at their best in the NCAAs.  Yes they slept through the first half, but as soon as SLU hit that fake fg to score in the second, Hobart ran off dive straigh td drives north of 60 yards each until they kicked it into cruise control very late in the fourth where the game was over.  We're talking about a 20pt game here.

And for Union fans to throw lofty expectations on Hobart, do something about it.  Haven't seen Union in the playoffs since 2006 when they blew a winnable playoff game.  Hobart has the best staff in the league between Cragg, Yoder '01, DeWall '00, Backhaus '00, et al and will prepare them for next werk.  Why don't you worry about hopeless SLU & WPI, UofR never getting better than 6 wins or RPI can't get to seven win with a supposed NFL caliber QB.

[dlippiel]

PA  what's your deal? We are all rooting for and supporting Hobart big time! God forbid we question them or make any comparisons to past LL powers. WTF? The reason we question is because we just want them to do well...plus we love to talk about and break down D3 football. Don't you worry, we worry enough and question Union enough, maybe sometimes too much. Don't get so defensive, we are all behind the Statesmen right now and wish them the very best. Questioning game performance against lesser opponents comes with the territory of being a very successful program. Being number #1 in the east holds a ton of water with those of us who love the east. If we have any pride what so ever in our region than we should have HIGH EXPECTATIONS of our regions #1 team. Get used to it pal, the Pumpkinheads are now on everyones radar. A lot of attention comes with that...get used to it.

[Jonny Utah]

I think this is was a very tough game for Hobart, as this point in the season gets very hard for any undefeated team at every level.  I wouldn't nitpick too much on what they did or didn't do with their offensive or defensive game plans in games like this late in the season.

I wouldn't read into that game too much.

[Frank Rossi]

I think this is was a very tough game for Hobart, as this point in the season gets very hard for any undefeated team at every level.  I wouldn't nitpick too much on what they did or didn't do with their offensive or defensive game plans in games like this late in the season.

I wouldn't read into that game too much.

Jonny, as I said, I am stretching back to the second half of the Union game.  Remember that Hobart was outscored 27-14 in that half.  I agree with you that one game is not a season.  It's a question of trends that concerns me, and they have one game to shake this slight inconsistency off and begin playing with the ability I know (and dlip knows) they have.  I'll ask Coach Cragg tonight about his own view about the team playing to its capabilities and will defer to his analysis.  He's a straight shooter and will tell me if I'm nuts or on point.

[dlippiel]

Hobart up 21-7 on Utica in the 2nd. Hobart taking a ton of penalties...5 so far!!!!