Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

New Long snapper, new holder and new kicker. Gavin Powell , Cole Magner and Shaun Suisham are all gone now.

That is going to need priority attention.

Kyle Cutler is the back-up long snapper and from Plain City's Jonathon Alder HS, so I think we're in capapble hands.

I would think between Timchenko and Fry we have decent kickers, but that is being addressed in between signing three tight ends this offseason

And holding duties will probably fall back to Van Johnson or Anthony Turner to give us that suprise element as well.

My concerns are primarily on the defensive side of the ball since Jelani Jordan still has eligibility remaining and Terrill Mayberry needs to go on the Double Quarter Pounder meal plan.

The tackling is probably my biggest concern as we seem to be more concerned with the cutesy strips and highlight hits than breaking down and simply making a tackle. Granted it doesn't look as pretty, but it's much more effective.

OptionQB wrote:Kyle Cutler is the back-up long snapper and from Plain City's Jonathon Alder HS, so I think we're in capapble hands.

I would think between Timchenko and Fry we have decent kickers, but that is being addressed in between signing three tight ends this offseason

And holding duties will probably fall back to Van Johnson or Anthony Turner to give us that suprise element as well.

My concerns are primarily on the defensive side of the ball since Jelani Jordan still has eligibility remaining and Terrill Mayberry needs to go on the Double Quarter Pounder meal plan.

The tackling is probably my biggest concern as we seem to be more concerned with the cutesy strips and highlight hits than breaking down and simply making a tackle. Granted it doesn't look as pretty, but it's much more effective.

Good post Option. The tackling has gotten so bad over the last few years in college ball. Many DB's don't wrap up at all and go for the "Take his legs out with the shoulder" hit.

As far as the kicking game, we need to get 3 guys that would work well together. Powell had almost flawless snaps and Cole and Shaun did the rest.

We need work, but I cannot wait til the '05 season...it could be HUGE.

I do not even get the whole stripping thing. It wasn't like we even stripped that many balls anyway. Most fumbles come from hard hits and/or putting a helmet on the ball.

Falconfreak90 wrote: I would think between Timchenko and Fry we have decent kickers, but that is being addressed in between signing three tight ends this offseason

I think Timchenko will do us alright for kicking. He has been with the team for a few years and I'm sure he's learned a lot from Shaun. Fry is a little inconsistent at times but after another year I have a feeling that could go away. IMO, the kicking game for 2005 doesn't look so bad, it's the years after I'm worried about. Not hearing about any special team recruiting gets me worried!

My biggest concern is the Oline. We have some VERY big shoes to fill.

I think the secondary will be OK with Perry and Crumpler starting at safety and Jordan and Mayberry on the corners. Simonton is an adequate nickel guy and Hood, Dozier and Waldron will join Myles, Arnold, Cole and the rest of last year's two and three deep to provide depth.

Flipper wrote:My biggest concern is the Oline.

Heck, we have big holes all over the team that will need filled. But despite the rebuilding we will have to do, I still think we will have a great team! As long as we can get some dedicated people to keep Omar safe, we will score just as many points as this past season if not more. Our shaky defense will have one more year of experience and I think the coaches have realized as we have that they still need a lot of work. I guess I have high hopes but things will be just fine

My only concern about next year is in the defensive backfield. Patton and Newson both stepped up to have huge senior years and we need Jordan and Mayberry to do the same. I know that neither of these two has 1/2 the talent that Patton or Newson had, but either way, they need to step it up. The other thing that concerns me is the overall speed back there. Garrett Wolfe is a pretty fast back, but it looked like Deaudre Perry was standing still watching him score at NIU in September. I don't think Crumpler is going to set any land speed records either.

On offense, I think the line will be just fine. Omar is so good and Chuck/Sanders only need 1 or 2 seconds to get open, so it's not like they need to maintain their blocks for a long time until a receiver gets open. I think Lichtensteiger will take over for Scotty at center and pick up right where Scotty left off. He'll be 3-time 1st team All-MAC. I think the other members of the "Five Blocks" will step up and shine as well.

As far as the kicking situation, if we miss one extra point a game then I guess we'll win 62-17 instead of 63-17. If we played like Ohio State, then I would be concerned, but the offense will put up so many 6's that I don't think the kicking situation will be that big of a deal.

Actually, this year isn't so bad. I think we reload nicely and are clearly the favorites to win the MAC. We have clear successors at key positions, and not too many losses, especially on defense, our weaker side of the ball.

Take a look, if you will, at the two deep for Juniors. We're losing a ton after next year. All the more reason for us to win in '05--our senior dominated team should deliver.

orangeandbrown wrote:Actually, this year isn't so bad. I think we reload nicely and are clearly the favorites to win the MAC. We have clear successors at key positions, and not too many losses, especially on defense, our weaker side of the ball.

Take a look, if you will, at the two deep for Juniors. We're losing a ton after next year. All the more reason for us to win in '05--our senior dominated team should deliver.

I agree the losses that we will incur this postseason are a part of every postseason. You can't keep everyone. We really are not losing too much. Having Pope, Sharon, and Sanders back will make us the best offensive team in the MAC once again. Next year is the year to do it. We have no proven RB or WR that will not be a senior next season. I am a little worried about a couple years from now, but as of now, my hopes for Falcon football in 2005 have never been so high.

I have dismissed this thought from my head as sacrilege until I saw this thread. If we are losing so much after next year, do you think Omarvelous will take that into account and jet for the NFL after a monster 2005 a la big ben? i hope to god he doesn't but one would certainly think he would take the huge senior losses into account when making his decision...

Well I am hoping that we have some WRs and RBs step up next season who have been kept quiet due to our extreme depth at those positions the past two seasons. I hope we have some great athletes who have been waiting to fill the shoes of Magner and Mcgrady. We have three proven receivers for next year if you include Pope and they will all be seniors, beyond that there is no one.
As for Jacobs it will depend on the season he has next year too and the way he looks for pro scouts, and of course Jacobs himself. I have no way of knowing what his future intentions are. One of his big problems right now is a low release. It is something he does have to work on. He can get away with it in college but probably not in the NFL. But what do I know, Bernie Kosar's sidearm worked out pretty well for him.

maybe Omar won't want to leave with all those tight ends to throw 6 yard curls to

Ok, I will throw this out there. It may sound like tooting your own horn, but...

Coach Brandon has on a number of occasions mentioned that he feels that Corey is the next coming of Cole and that Corey is very magner like. With that said Corey was 2nd behind Cole at camp this summer. He had a hamstring strain that may have been the deciding factor in red-shirting him. So I expect Corey to step up and fill in nicely for Cole. There is no replacing a Cole Magner but Corey can become the same type of player and produce similar results. Expect even better things after he has a year of playing and learning from Sharon and Sanders.

As for a holder, Corey was the holder for his high school team, he was also the quarterback. Does seem a bit Magner like doesn't it?

Just my opinion, I hope it works out, 2005 is going to be an unfalconbelievable year!


P.S. Corey has expressed an opinion of Anthony Turner from playing with him on the scout team all year. That opinion is that he is good enough to start on most MAC teams right now. So the future continues to look bright at the QB position.

thanks for the info -- we've begun a track record of having a terrific receiving core with a lot of depth. In our offense, we need a viable fourth receiving option behind Chuck, P.J. and Steve. Hopefully Corey can fill that role and become the star when the others leave.