More Training Camp Reports

Ryan Autullo in The Blade has another training camp report. Most of Ryan's article is about how lousy our special teams were last year (there is some news for you...see what we said in February), and how much better the new guys are going to be--which is the same article The Blade probably ran last year about how much better Rojas and Ellis were going to be than what we had the year before that, which sucked just as bad. AZZ posters have noted the thinly veiled shots at Ellis and Rojas, who left last year, one of them complaining to ESPN about the ball placement on his key kick against Miami.

We'll see. Part of the problem was lousy coaching--blocked kicks, poor blocking and poor protection schemes, and kick coverage was also a huge problem---we gave up 3 KO returns for TDs, and the rest of the MAC gave up 2.

But, we have a special teams coach with a "passion" for the kicking game, so let's hope it gets significantly better.

Now, on to more interesting news. Young Willie Geter, true Fr, is showing his stripes. All-state in Florida, I rated him a likely star in the recruiting analysis.

Well, according to the Blade, he is dangerous--in the backfield, and the slot. Fast and shifty. With our offense, if you can spread everyone out and get the shifty guy the ball, he can really cause damage after the catch.

The Blade also reports starting LBs are Haneline, Hargrove and Dozier. Don't know what to say here. I worry about our LBs. I hope Haneline is coming into his own.

Finally, injuries continue to hit at WR. Freddie Barnes and a JUCO named Keston Cheathem are down, but are said to be able to play against Minn. Calvin Wiley is a "fatality" (I hope we are speaking figuratively here).

Article makes reference to WR depth--don't know if I would use that word. We have a lot of guys (after Corey) who are similar. I won't think we have real quality depth until I see it.

Short Vacation--here for the duration

After a short vacation, we are back in the game. Today, we look at an article from The Blade, where new beat writer Ryan Autullo (no mo MO) got a chance to view practice. Most of his article is a pre-season optimistic thumb sucker about how the receivers know they need to reach the levels of Magner, Sharon, etc--but can they?

There is some news for the football junkie looking to see beneath the easy story.

Most notably, Ryan notes that both Sheehan and Turner looked bad.

Neither Turner nor fellow quarterback Tyler Sheehan looked particularly impressive yesterday as they continued their battle for the starting position. Sheehan got first crack with the first-team offense, but was erratic.

If accurate, this represents an abject disaster for this team. I will do some previews coming up later as we lead up to the Minnesota game, but of this I am sure. If we don't get more quality QB play this season, than Corey Partridge can turn into Braylon Edwards, it isn't going to help. Coach Brandon has said as much in other forums--our attack is QB focused. If our guys can't make the reads and make accurate throws, we cannot move the ball. We will be back to last year's portfolio of counter plays and end runs.

The choice of QBs is interesting. A lot of us foresaw AT bringing back the Josh Harris style runspread--and he might be able to run well enough--but he didn't throw well enough to open up the lanes and make the QB run a real weapon. This mode of spread is sort of the Urban Meyer spread.

From time to time, the Coach has intimated that he prefers someone in the Omar passpread mode. Where he takes off and runs only if there is a completely wide open lane...and its third down. This is clearly the mode Sheehan could fill.

Either one could work, so far as I care. We need a two-dimensional attack, and we must be able to throw this year. And our QB is the single thing standing between us and having that. And if we don't get it (and it doesn't sound good) then we won't have a winning season.

Our offense simply relies that much on the QB.

Oh, Yes, My Friends

Fall camp is almost ready to start...and our long March-September down time is almost over.

The big news out of camp is the opening of the Sebo Center, our new training facility. The Blade writes that Diryal Briggs has said that it makes them feel like a "real Division I team."

Via Warthog at Azz.com, there is a little bit of sticky, gooey, warm roster minutiae. First, Kelvin Davis, was was a #2 WR on the spring depth chart, is no longer listed on the roster. This is not a position where we have sufficient depth, but there is no clear word on what happened.

Warthog also notes that Anthony Smith, a DB from NJ who was in this year's class, is not on the roster. Here is what I wrote on him in February:

Anthony Smith: Apparently he looked good on tape, but we have about zero info on him as a player.

There were also some position changes, but nothing of any great import:

Adrian Baker LB --> DE
Aaron Davis LB --> DB
Garth Hartung DL --> DE
Nick Lawrence DL --> RB
Angelo Magnone LB --> DE
Darius Smith OL --> DE
Nate Waldron LB --> RB

Finally, The Blade noted that Brandon had abandoned his plan of dividing up special teams among all coaches, and was letting Stephen Bird handle them. We ran this on June 15. Just sayin'.

Springing back to life---Falcon Football picked 5th in East by MAC Media

Well, the news is out. The gurus in the MAC media awakened us all to MAC football again by making their picks for this season. Always--always, always, always, always--these picks are more about last year than this year. No one, for example, saw Kent coming last year, or WMU, for that matter.

So, below you can see how the MAC picked. My comments:

First, on the Falcons. Given what is known now, I just don't think you can argue the pick too much. Should Temple have gotten a first place vote and not BG? No, course not. Could we have been fourth? Yeah, maybe.

The question is, based on what we KNOW today, was the pick reasonable? And I submit it was.

Falcon fans believe that our defense was young and is rallying as it matures, and is going to be fast and have some talent. But there is no reason for an observer to know that, or even believe it until they see it.

Falcon fans believe that with with new tools on offense, one of the QBs will take control, and we can start to move the ball again like we used to. But there is no reason for an observer to know that, or even believe it until they see it.

Falcon fans believe that the special teams will be better. But, even if the kickers are better, poor execution by the other 10 guys on punts and kickoff returns still needs to be corrected. And there is no reason for an observer to know that, or even believe it until they see it.

So, you get the idea. Based on what people have seen, there is no reason to think we are going to be much better. As fans, we believe it could happen--and it could.

As for the rest of the picks, I will weigh in briefly. I will make my own picks sometime close to when the season starts, but for the sake of comment.

• The West remains the dominant division in the MAC.
• I like WMU a lot. They are now well coached and Darnell clearly had talent there.
• CMU may struggle. They lost quite a bit.
• The Rockets will be interesting. They could still win the West.
• I think OU is overrated, and any of five (or maybe four) teams could win the East. I feel the same way about Kent, maybe more.
• There is a good chance that we won't really know what we have until October 13th. Our early schedule includes three games against the Big East and Big Ten, and one against a I-AA team. Assuming we get our revenge against Temple, the teams first test will be in Oxford against the Red Hawks...a crucial game in the new format.
  
• Finally, under the new format, with only games in the division really counting, the pressure is on for all of those games. And injuries and little ups and downs will play a huge role--and what week they happen will really matter.

WEST (6-5-4-3-2-1 point value)

School Points First Place Votes

1. WMU 175 15

2. CMU 173 10

3. Toledo 138 6

4. Ball State 134 4

5. NIU 90 1

6. EMU 46 -

EAST (7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point value)

School Points First Place Votes

1. Ohio 216 15

2. KSU 203 13

3. Akron 171 6

4. Miami 163 1

5. BGSU 130 -

6. Temple 64 1

7. Buffalo 61 -

MAC Championship Game Winner:

Western Michigan 11

Central Michigan 10

Ohio 6

Toledo 5

Kent State 2

Akron 1

Temple 1

More Austin Calhoun

Check out the June 19th post on Austin Calhoun from the Izzo shootout. Continues to look like someone who can be a dominant MAC player.

Orr lands early Hoop verbal

Coach Orr has landed his first hoop recruit (for the 08-09 season), and this one looks like a good one. He's a 6'7 forward from Southfield, MI, and looks to be the kind of player we simply have not gotten in years. Check this our from mlive.

A player with some high-major offensive skills is headed to the MAC -- 6-foot-7 senior Austin Calhoun of Southfield has committed to Bowling Green. Calhoun was all the rage in June, staking claim to top 10 status in the class of 2008 with a lights-out shooting performance at the Izzo Shootout. With his ability to do everything from defend the post to knock down shots from 22 feet, Calhoun has three-position potential at the next level.

Gotta like the sound of that. Inside/outside scorer who plays D. Three position potential. Nice. Nice.

From The Blade, here is what his Mom said:

"He liked the coaches and he wanted to go someplace where he would be able to develop his basketball skills, and he felt Bowling Green would be a good opportunity for that to happen," said Calhoun's mother, LaTanya Cash-Calhoun.

Good get, Coach Orr. Let's go to the Big Dance.

Panoramic Doyt View

Grant, webmaster supreme of Ay-ziggy-zoomba.com, the spiritual home of the Falcon Nation, posted this...one of those controllable, panoramic views of the Doyt. If this doesn't get your, bored, off-season, missing Falcon football heart pumping, turn in your passport!