Chris Datres

I'd like to find that out for sure. Just gotta get in and then see how things break.

I'd hardly call a game-winning scoring drive with 4:00 left and then a goal line stand in the last minute a 'woodshed' beating. But I know you like to play the fatalist role. The bracketology and the rankings logic (whatever that's good for) makes it seem like we're in really good shape. But I'll always go back to the snub a few years ago when we tore up UNH on the road (the definition of woodshed) and were told that we weren't invited.

https://towsontigers.com/news/2018/11/10/-20-football-earns-31-point-win-in-top-5-victory-at-elon.aspx That was allegedly the #5 team in the nation? A road win like that should look awfully good on the resume. Too bad it wasn't the last game of the season and our last piece of evidence to the committee. I've been tough on the defense most of the season but especially the last 2 weeks. That was an excellent effort on their part. They got to the QB consistently, stopped the regular running game, and came up with a number of key stops. Offensively, the line was a bit porous on a few pass plays and it forced Flacco into some bad situations. We're very lucky that the first pick went out of bounds instead of back to our 15 when the game was tight. We're fortunate that the refs called Flacco's forward progress dead (rightfully so) and it didn't lead to a scoop & score when it was 24-10. Hopefully, we've put away the ghosts of the previous 2 weeks and carry THIS performance into a really big game next week that could be for a share of the conference championship as well as that playoff berth we want so badly.

I'd like to see a bit more of the power running game that we saw on the drive that put us up 34-10. I'd think that JMU will expect us to keep the ball in Flacco's hands most of the time and they'd be smart to key on him. It will be a big game for the running backs and the o-line especially to step up.

Next week's CAA schedule of importance to us: Elon (6-3, 4-2) at Maine (7-3, 6-1) Villanova at Delaware (7-3, 5-2) Stony Brook (7-3, 5-2) at Albany JMU (7-3, 5-2) at Towson (7-3, 5-2) If we win, we're in. That's a lock. If we lose, I think we need a Maine win to feel okay. If we can get a Maine win and an Albany win, that would be tremendous but a Maine win and 1 of a Nova win and/or Albany win might be good enough. Might be. But the good news is that we can still control our own situation. If we hadn't spit up Delaware and Maine, we'd already be hanging a banner.

As I see it, if Maine beats Richmond (and they're up 14-3 in the 2nd as I write this), we would not be able to win the conference outright since we lost to Maine. Now if it works out that Elon beats Maine next week and we beat JMU, there could be 5 teams at 6-2 and tied for first. That would mean JMU would be in 6th at 5-3 and you know they're not getting left out of the playoffs. But if we take care of business next week, the only question should be who we play in the first round. Unless New Hampshire somehow sneaks in the field. I don't put anything past the committee.

No surprise that we got virtually nothing out of Thomas again. I openly laughed when he attempted that corner 3. Was actually surprised that he hit rim. But hey, at least he didn't commit any illegal screens and didn't foul out. I like Howard at the point. He seemed pretty confident with the ball and if he gets his feet set, he can be a weapon from the arc. I like Fobbs and Timberlake being aggressive and going to the basket, just have to work more on the finish. I think it would be better if Tunstall started. He seemed to be a lot more active, especially on the offensive end, than what I've seen in the past. I like Sanders trying to be a bull in a china shop inside but he needs to be a bit more under control. The rest of the newcomers I couldn't really get much of a bead on them. See what comes down the line in the next couple of games. Overall, I liked the way they battled especially in the first half. Game is probably tied at halftime if they were anywhere close to competent at the foul line and they hadn't lost Jerome on the perimeter in the last 5 minutes. I also think it's pretty good that for a virtually new team they only had 14 turnovers. A lot of that can be traced to the vast experience of Virginia's players within that defense.

If you want to get into sEmantics (E, not Y...I thought our school educated better than that), I'd argue that Towson already has 2 wins over winning teams as they were over 500 when we played them. We can't control what happens after the fact. Nova was 2-0 (with a win over a 1-A team) when we beat them and Stony Brook was 4-1 when we pounded them. I get it that the ones making the most noise are the ones that hate coaches but perhaps the examination should wait until after the damn season is over. This isn't the pros where they make changes during the season. Unless it's a complete FUBAR (read: Kansas), a good AD doesn't make an evaluation until the end of the year. If/when we take out Elon and JMU and make the playoffs, how will that change the naysayers' mindset?

https://towsontigers.com/news/2018/10/6/football-full-team-effort-leads-no-23-tigers-to-second-top-15-win.aspx The beat goes on... The offense can do pretty much anything it wants. It's amazing the difference a good offensive line and a strong QB can make on a team. That, and no injuries, of course. Flacco can make all the throws and his mobility is such a big confidence boost to the o-line because they know that he can bail himself out if they miss an assignment on protection. This win should get us to at least #20. Nova lost again today so they'll probably rise to 14 or 15. 😉

How is it common sense? It's a feel thing. You feel like sending a message with your defense AND getting to start the 2nd half with the ball? Then defer. I'd guess that every coach approaches it differently for each game.

A real fatalist, huh? You should have probably left the stadium as soon as they said that Towson deferred. Tell Belichick that deferring is a bad idea. His defenses haven't been all that great over the years but they defer EVERY time because they always want the ball to start the 2nd half. Personally, I think it's a lot better to get the ball to start the second half because that first drive of the game, who knows what sort of feeling out you might have to do on either side of the ball. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/sports/football/first-decision-of-the-game-for-belichick-its-no-tossup.html https://www.sbnation.com/2017/2/3/14424238/coin-toss-super-bowl-li-patriots-defer-heads-falcons-bill-belichick

One daily fantasy site has included our game in the mix for tomorrow night's slate. All of our guys are very affordably-priced. I wonder which newcomer will be the Benimon of the group and score all the points. I don't have much confidence in the returnees to stuff the stat sheet.

I guess now that we've lost a couple of games in a row, the career record and the namecalling can begin. No surprise. It was seashells and balloons when we were 6-1 and gnawing our fingernails about what we'd be ranked each week when truly, those rankings didn't matter on October 1st. And now we see why. Two games left in some guys' careers. Hopefully their fire will burn to make them both great.

It's defense, kids. The O was due to have a bad game and when that happens, you need your defense to have their backs until they can figure it out. After it got to 28-10, they woke up and buckled down but then as soon as we get the game tied, we give it right back. What changed? Why do we have a secondary that just lets people run free all day long? Just needed them to get one more stop after tying the game and we win this one. Just like last week if they get a stop on that last drive, we're not talking about the dropped TD in the end zone at the end of the game. Yes, the play calling was mystifying on the final 2 plays of the game but it can't just boil down to that because our defense put us in the hole by blowing assignments throughout the day. Now aren't we glad we worried so much about rankings on October 1?

Certainly not bad ideas. I bolded the comp tickets portion of your post because NCAA rules stipulate that student-athletes may only receive 4 comp tickets from the school (they can scarf unused tickets from other teammates, etc). Every one of your ideas sounds like something that could be done if the right steps are taken and relationships made. It seems that the biggest thing is getting that positive pre-game/tailgate atmosphere going. But then if you have that, you have to make sure that you get that crowd from the parking lot into the stadium because if they don't make it there, then you run into potential issues in the parking lot and I think we've seen from the past what that turns into. Ultimately, the biggest weapon is a winning product.

It's also a striking illustration of how much the school underestimated their own stupidity.

So does that mean there's a potential 12th game TBA or were we not able to 'scare' anyone into playing us?

Dropped the ball how? 4 conference games at home, 4 on the road. The 1-A game obviously on the road and then one non-con at home and one on the road. Same as this year.

Not that it really matters but that bracketology is pretty messed up when we beat Stony and yet end up with a more difficult 2nd round matchup than they do, meaning they have SB as a better seed.

You're crazy. Do you know what Virginia's got coming back? Check out their roster. Guy, Key, Jerome, Hunter, Salt...all big-time players returning from last year. They're gonna be ticked off because of what happened the last time we saw them on the court and their defense is top-notch. Given our ridiculous inexperience, I'd call it fortunate if we scored more than 50 in the game. I like your enthusiasm. But you might want to save it for a better-percentage chance of winning than Virginia at JPJ.

As I said in another thread, I don’t understand how you can drop 7-8 in coverage in the red zone and still have guys running wide open. After kicking a dumb squib and allowing UD to take over at the +35, why are corners giving 10 yard cushions with zero pressure/blitz? That’s a personnel AND a scheme problem. Hach was a TERRIBLE DC and yesterday, LJ’s defensive schemes reminded me of Hach’s. Your offense puts 36 on the board, even with red zone issues, and you have to win EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Not sure how you can use ‘defense’ and ‘better’ in the same sentence when UD could get pretty much any pass they wanted in the 4th quarter.

The secondary as well as the DC should be forced to walk home from Newark after that display. They have 2 receivers and you let them run amok all day long. *ZERO* thought of sending more than 4 players and then you play that stupid-ass Cover 2 (cover nobody) that any competent OC knows how to beat. When you have 7 and 8 guys dropping into coverage, there is no excuse for guys being as wide open as Delaware's was today. I thought the play calling in the red zone when we had to settle for FG's in the first half was sketchy at best. The first time, you're making low-percentage throws and the second time, you're trying to gouge into the line. The off-tackle runs were working great throughout the game but yet, when we get into the red zone, those magically went away. However, the draw call on the TD that put us up 36-33 was freakin brilliant. Would have liked to have seen more of that. I'd also like to know who the hell ordered the squib kick on the last kickoff. You have the wind and a decent leg in Aidan and you're hitting a ground ball? Gotta kick it deep in that situation because on a grounder like that, inevitably, kids are gonna lose their lanes when they see the ball rolling around. That was a lethal loss to this team's hopes. They needed that cushion heading into the last two and that's gone now. There is zero room for error over the next 2 games. As for that last TD, @TSU86, Papale did juggle but he got a foot down just as he re-controlled it. So it was the right call.

I'd find that pretty far-fetched that those in Bristol even care about what goes on in 1-AA to even notice that a JMU-Towson matchup could be for a conference title. North Dakota State is at home that day and they've received overwhelming support the two times that they've gone there. If there isn't a 1-A game that's all that attractive (and right now, there isn't anything that jumps off the page...though both ND and Michigan are at home and there will be big CFP talk around them...Cincy-UCF may be a destination if UCF is still undefeated) and they decided to go the 1-AA route, I'd think from a TV presentation standpoint, Fargo would be where they'd run off to.

Wowwwwwww...That's a lot of RPI points available in that tournament (RIP RPI). Good thing all of our freshmen will have a year of experience before facing that rough lineup.