Drake brings their 1 loss in league team to Brown Field. Had blip vs. Stetson. Do we see a re-blip with Drake looking ahead to their league title matchup vs. San Diego the week after Valpo?
Drake is #1 in the league in defense and #4 in offense. Valpo is 8th in defense and 6th in offense
It has been awhile since Valpo has won over Drake, and it will not happen here. Drake 34 Valpo 24
Drake's league defensive score against so far is 9, 6, 23, and 17. If Valpo scores 24 against them it will be quite an accomplishment.
If Drake scores mid-30's I don't think Valpo has any much of a shot at winning.
The good news is that the following week the defense goes up against Marist and Justin Christian who's had over 230 yds receiving in two of his last 3 games.
So the two-deeps are out and so are Turner, J D-M, Boxrucker and Cartales! :( Also, it appears that Jimmy is not going to red-shirt as he is listed.
Quote from: vu72 on October 23, 2018, 09:27:09 AM
So the two-deeps are out and so are Turner, J D-M, Boxrucker and Cartales! :( Also, it appears that Jimmy is not going to red-shirt as he is listed.
:( :( :(
I wouldn't look at the two deep as any indicator of who is going to play and who isn't. At the time the two deep is released and coach does his weekly chat with Todd, the team hasn't even practiced for the week of the game. If I were the coach, I'd put Seewald's name in there as well just to keep the opponent guessing.
It's only if he plays that is the determinant as to whether he's still eligible for a redshirt year. JDM was not on the two deep last week and played Saturday. Not sure what could have happened to Boxrucker. He was in there through the final offensive play and didn't appear injured at all.
It's game day at the Mecca of college football - beautiful Brown Field! It much discussion about this game.
30-20 Drake and I'm trying to be optimistic.
Per Todd...Seewald done for season. Duncan capable and looking good so far. Help from WRs is needed at times.
RBs using Markoff at RB as well as Early.
Tough going on the ground. OL getting devoured by Drake in the running game so far.
Rene injured and apparently now out as of 1st q.
21-10 early in 3rd. Nice drive to open 2nd half
Just kick the FG coaches.
...and into the toilet we go.
Heck of a catch by Bailey.
PFox for the score
Devoured by injuries this season
Tough for Snouffer , Norberg, Schofied, Rentschler, Sutter, Rene those guys were integral parts of winning success at Valpo
We started two freshman dbs in secondary Sherman and Scarsella
JDM hard concussion year, Turner may be redshirting, Jimmy is
Hats off to the seniors for the turnaround of the program, with the short camp, full scholarship ooc schedule, injury bug was a tough season
I still support Cecchini and his efforts. Hard to win with Cartales, Boxrucker, Maceo out
I feel for the seniors and hope a vast majority of redshirt juniors return
Todd mentioned that Cartales is out for the season as well.
This has been one bust of a season. Yes, they have had injuries, but so do all teams, and the backups need to step up. 1 and 7 is unacceptable.
Even playing at 100% and being undefeated in the league to this point, this would have been a very difficult game to win.
I do have some concerns moving forward after this season at some positions but this isn't a game to make proclamations upon.
Agreed, but I thought fb16 was a little soft in his assessment.
I seem to always be late to the dance this year. Sorry.
Living up to my "technically, the glass is full" theme, I will attempt to put a silver lining spin on this last defeat.
:) Chris threw for over 300 yards against one of the best Ds in the PFL (who did have 3 pics :().
:) losing by 17 to the team that will duke it out for the PFL championship is no embarrassment
:) We are giving some kids who wouldn't have seen a lot of action more action than anticipated
:) Hopefully, Jimmy and Nick decide to return next year
:) Hopefully, the coaches gained added experience dealing with the PFL environment (i.e., adjusting their schemes to be able to more consistantly win at the level we ar at).
:) And I am sure there are more :)s but I need to give it more thought.
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 27, 2018, 04:26:58 PMThis has been one bust of a season. Yes, they have had injuries, but so do all teams, and the backups need to step up. 1 and 7 is unacceptable.
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 27, 2018, 04:59:21 PMAgreed, but I thought fb16 was a little soft in his assessment.
I think, with injuries, there should be two perspectives. One is from the fan and the other the coaches and players and I have two different angles.
Coaches. First, it is good to hear the coaches (as Miran did at halftime) express out loud that they need to do a better job of coaching. On the other hand, while a coach can bring up injuries, I don't think the focus that Cecchini is putting on them helps anyone other than coming across as "what do you want us to do". He should mention them quickly and move on.
Fans. One of the great Fanspeak-isms is "everybody has injuries and injuries shouldn't matter". The biggest pile of bs we've ever been fed.
Valpo was without a starting DL. A starting all League Lber. One of his backups was injured early. Both starting CBs are out. A starting (and in my opinion All PFL) safety is out and his backup is out. That player plays in nickel defense sometimes when 3 Safeties are used.
That's just the defense.
The starting QB (who received support as All PFL last season) is out. The starting RB (and in my opinion the best player on offense) is out. The 2nd string RB is out. The 3rd string RB is out. Valpo is playing a QB at RB. The 2nd best (or best) WR was injured early in the first quarter.
Injuries do matter. It is very difficult to win games with this many injuries no matter who the team is. Take the equivalent players off Drake's gameday roster and they'd have the same issue.
Quote from: VULB#62 on October 27, 2018, 06:24:54 PMI seem to always be late to the dance this year. Sorry. Living up to my "technically, the glass is full" theme, I will attempt to put a silver lining spin on this last defeat. :) Chris threw for over 300 yards against one of the best Ds in the PFL (who did have 3 pics).
At least one of the picks wasn't his fault. Can't recall who it was but either Fox or Gessinger ran the wrong route on one pick.
Quotelosing by 17 to the team that will duke it out for the PFL championship is no embarrassment :)
10 point game with the ball with 4 mins left.
JD24 - ok, so the injuries are a result of a 1-7 season? It also seems that this barage of injuries is strange.
Note that Valpo lost to Truman St. and Davidson and they were not as disabled then as they are today. Also, where is the player development which is needed in these situations?
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 27, 2018, 09:51:38 PMJD24 - ok, so the injuries are a result of a 1-7 season? It also seems that this barage of injuries is strange. Note that Valpo lost to Truman St. and Davidson and they were not as disabled then as they are today.
This is true. The team has underperformed but that wasn't the case today.
QuoteAlso, where is the player development which is needed in these situations?
You really think player development is going to drag underclassmen to fill the starting positions and players in particular I listed? There are very few teams which can survive the number of injuries and to the players in particular as Valpo has experienced this season. That's at any level. You really need some perspective because you're really lacking it in this case.
jD24 - ok, you have a point, but it is more than injuries that Valpo is 1 - 7. Everyone needs to be held accountable.
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 27, 2018, 10:36:34 PMjD24 - ok, you have a point, but it is more than injuries that Valpo is 1 - 7. Everyone needs to be held accountable.
I absolutely agree.
this season does not yet feel Carlsonesque, but it is getting there.
When does it become Carlsonesque? The injuries at that time were just as many and as severe(towards starters). Those players were playing as freshman also. The administration has opened its pocketbooks for this staff. Facility upgrades. Recruiting money. Staff salaries. One winning season. The Carlson era took a beating on this thread. Deservedly so, he was a poor coach. However, the current staff have been given the benefit of the doubt way more than others. Just my opinion.
and I think they deserved the benefit of a doubt...there is absolutely no comparison between the 2 coaches as Carlson was in way over his head
Those who are saying this is Carlson esque weren't there for Carlson esque.
These coaches actually have scheme . Competitive weight and locker rooms. Attrition was absolutely absurd, this is completely different.
I'm not entirely sure I agree with the soft approach. I have friends on the team and know the staff personally. It's been a rough year. Sure 1-7 is unacceptable but if you go through Valpo's records throughout the years its not like this program has ever set world on fire (even the winning seasons contained several NAIA schools and D3 programs on schedule, winning-est season is 8-9 wins) Let's not throw around bricks in a glass house, especially on a message board.
To reiterate lets look at top stats leaders from last season 2017
Passing:
Seewald (Played in 4, injured while playing)
Duncan
Rushing:
Morgan (Graduation)
Cartales (Injury prone season)
Boxrucker (injury prone season)
Receiving:
Navarro (Transfer)
Catrine (Graduate)
Rene (Coming off hip surgery)
Norberg
Fox
Sutter
Defense:
Snouffer
Turner (Injured, redshirting and confirmed RETURNING for 5th)
Nunes (Graduated)
Diaz-Martinez (Injured)
Leandre (Injured)
Petrie
Slone (Graduated)
Booker
Skarecky
Scargle (Transferred)
Let's also review the losses from this season:
@Duquesne: 5-3 (two losses to FBS)
@Youngstown St: 3-5 (full scholly)
Truman St: 6-3 (undefeated since game 3)
Davidson: 5-4
@Dayton: 4-5 (Drake, San Diego, Duquesne, and Southeastern Missouri account for 4/5 losses)
Butler: 3-5 we won
@Morehead State: 3-5
Drake: 5-2
so of those games we have played one sub .500 team at home and won. relative to last year without injuries we played four sub .500 teams at home and won all four (Stetson, Marist, Morehead St, Dayton).
So in a vacuum I realize that 1-7 is unacceptable but in terms of Carlson esque lets review how many games Cecchini has been competitive in vs Carlson, sake of argument lets call two touchdowns competitive
Carlson:
2010: 1
2011: 3
2012: 4
2013: 6
Average: 3.5/11= 31.8%
Cecchini:
2014: 8
2015: 3
2016: 7
2017: 8
2018: 5 (3 games remain)
Average:6.2/10.4=59.6%
Not a numbers guy, but I'm not exactly ready to have a meltdown after reviewing everything
Hugely disappointing season but understood, given all the injuries. The bottom line, for me, is Dave has beaten Butler two in a row and 3 out of five. During Carlson's four years we lost to Butler by a combined (are you ready for this) 218-43. Nough said.
Ok, I have misspoke. I hate being in the bottom 10 though.
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 29, 2018, 12:09:14 PM
Ok, I have misspoke. I hate being in the bottom 10 though.
Dave doesn't quote Joel (Claude) Osteen and his wife has a star on the women's tennis team. Two big pluses in my book. ;)
Did anyone notice that the 4 captains who went for the coin flip on Saturday... 3 were in street clothes? Snouffer was the only one in shoulder pads...
Quote from: talksalot on October 29, 2018, 01:11:21 PM
Did anyone notice that the 4 captains who went for the coin flip on Saturday... 3 were in street clothes? Snouffer was the only one in shoulder pads...
A picture of that is worth a thousand words.
I think looking at the 2014 season is most interesting...this staff's first year and using nearly completely players brought in by the previous staff. That team won 4 games running a new scheme to them. I'm not sure how much of the playbook was used on offense but I don't think it was a lot of it. The offense had at their disposal a QB who had his limitations yet made the most of his abilities. Three pretty good RBs. A bunch of WRs ranging from as good as Valpo's seen in recent years to guys capable of contributing throughout the season. The OL provided a pretty good running attack. About the only area really lacking was at TE where the guys used were mostly of the blocking variety and not receiving.
The defense unfortunately had a habit of struggling at the end of games although there was certainly talent on the DL and at LBer.
The team was ahead of Drake in the 4th quarter and I think Ben was injured in that game and didn't complete it, let Morehead State come down the field after being up by 2 scores with about 5 mins left and, in probably the worst loss the program has suffered in some time because of who the opponent was, let San Diego complete a Hail Mary vs. a defense which absolutely never should have occurred. That team should have won 6 games and had a shot at another.
I mention this because while the game day coaching has improved to a degree (this over the Carlson years), I'm not sure how much better the recruiting paired with retention has been. In addition, the defensive issues remain and need to be addressed for the program to take the next step.
Quote from: mila on October 29, 2018, 09:42:30 AM
When does it become Carlsonesque? The injuries at that time were just as many and as severe(towards starters). Those players were playing as freshman also. The administration has opened its pocketbooks for this staff. Facility upgrades. Recruiting money. Staff salaries. One winning season. The Carlson era took a beating on this thread. Deservedly so, he was a poor coach. However, the current staff have been given the benefit of the doubt way more than others. Just my opinion.
I think it gets Carlsonesque when we've lost 4-5 PFL games in a row by at least 35 points and given up at least one scoring play of 50 yards or greater in each game.
Disappointing season - no doubt. Carlsonesque - not even close.
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Quote from: covufan on October 30, 2018, 04:54:07 PMDisappointing season - no doubt. Carlsonesque - not even close.
This sums it up and I'm not sure why Carlson has to be brought up everytime things go sour or criticism is lodged vs. the current staff. I agree that anyone comparing the two eras probably wasn't around or paying attention during the Carlson years and definitely isn't paying attention currently.
With that said, there are some legit beefs to be had with the current staff. In my view "It could always be worse" is not a legit defense against said beefs.