Chris Datres

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.

7 hours ago, TSU88 said:

I think we’re a good team also, but following Runda’s logic, TU>Nova>Temple>MD>Texas>USC

 

Towson>Nova>Temple>Cincinnati>UCLA>Cal>BYU>Wisconsin>Iowa>MD>Texas>Oklahoma

A few more links and we'll take down Bama too.  Citadel has zero chance.

As I said in a chat a couple games back, what's it say about the coaching staff and style of play that he couldn't see the field at RUTGERS??  Their stupidity is our gain, that's for sure.

14 hours ago, TSU88 said:

I’ll be pulling for Richmond (playing Elon), W&M (playing Maine), UNH (playing Delaware) & Stony Brook (playing Rhode Island) this weekend.

It’s fun to be scoreboard watching for the 1st time since 2013.

 

 

As things are shaping up, just need JMU to find another loss before we play them.  That way, it’s possible that game won’t matter for the CAA title.  THAT is what we should start looking at now.  Everything else would take care of itself. 

CAA Football – With a fifth loss, New Hampshire’s bid for a 15th straight playoff appearance is all but over.

They obviously don’t know the Committee’s history. 🤣

I think history tells us that more is a lot better.  Might as well make it 9 just to be sure. 

12 hours ago, TU2018 said:

As a 2018 Towson grad I would like to share some of my insight on this topic.

During my time at Towson, (2015-2018) going to football games was never considered cool or even a thought in most of my friends minds. My freshman year, yeah we went to the first one for the free t-shirt and then never went to another. Most of my Saturdays were spent going out and drinking during the day at Uptown bars (hundreds of students are found here during the day on Saturdays). It's not that I wasn't interested in going to the game, it was just nearly impossible to try to find friends to go with. Most students at this school after freshman year don't go to a single game and do not even follow or know when games are. My friends that graduated before me all used to go (tailgating era) and as soon as tailgating was banned (wasn't actually banned but with all the stupid regulations everyone basically considered it banded) none of them had any interest in going to a game.

It's pretty simple in my eyes, no tailgating culture = no strong student attendance. The whole tailgating thing is a joke. Without a strong tailgating atmosphere how do you expect the community/older adults to come out. Tailgating is a major part of the atmosphere of going to a college/NFL game. Add on top a weak student section, you have a crowd that resembles a high school football game (I've heard students call it a high school atmosphere before).

The attitude by school administration to cover there asses by implementing all these tailgating policies is idiotic. Look at schools down south in the SEC or even UMD. There are thousands of kids on top of tables dancing, in tents, jumping on tables, doing keg stands in the parking lot and the school still allows it.

Another thought to increase attendance is schedule Maryland every year, (or Navy, or WVU). In 2017, many of my friends made the trek down to college park for the game. The same friends who have never attended a Towson home game. Most Towson students are friends with many students at College Park and it was an excellent atmosphere in the tailgating lots and at the game between both rival schools. I know Maryland would never come to us but still it raises the profile of Towson football among students that the games can be fun and may result to them coming out to a home game. 

I would love to hear the feedback from you all, figuring most of you may be older and have an older perspective.

I know it's a football topic right now and we're still 6 weeks away from tipoff, but I'd like you to take a crack at the basketball problem next.

1 hour ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Also, can we please get highlights/review from the previous game on the big screen before the game?!  I've been clamoring for this with basketball as well.  Shouldn't be hard to do! I know we have ad spots on the board, but it seems like most is "whose who at TU" on a continual loop

One would think that TSN could produce a 1 to 2-minute segment with highlights from the previous game or even sound from the coach looking back or looking forward.  After finishing with the weekly Football Report show or Basketball Report show, break off a quick 1-minute analysis from the coach to be played on the video board prior to the game.

Worrying about rankings on October 8 is only going to knock years off your life.  Let's beat W&M on Saturday and keep the train rolling.  They ain't picking the playoff field tomorrow so wherever we are now means nothing.  Lose Saturday and all of this hand wringing has been for why?  We've pretty much established throughout the last 2-3 weeks that 8 wins will get us to where we want to be.  Can't get there unless we take care of business on Saturday.

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. 😉

Agreed.  That was outstanding.  The only things I would have liked to have seen more of was clips of Vinson and Meggett, given that along with TWest, they're in the pantheon of Towson RB's.  I also think that they could have capped off the entire run from almost dead in '90 to the 1-AA championship game in '13 with clips of games like the Lehigh loss in the first appearance in a playoff game (to slam home the D3-D2-D1 playoff run) to TWest running for a million yards vs. EIU to the Drive at the Red Menace and culminating with the title game in Frisco.  But it was a great lookback to the history of the program and it's pretty remarkable that we've only had 4 head coaches in 50 years of the program.

1 hour ago, TigerFan54 said:

On a related topic: I urge everyone to watch "The First 50" documentary. It's terrific. As I mentioned on another thread, I really appreciate how it doesn't gloss over the dark times when football almost bit the dust, and the focus on Wardell Turner near the end is very moving. Hats off to everyone involved. (That includes you too, right Mat?)

Agreed.  That was outstanding.  The only things I would have liked to have seen more of was clips of Vinson and Meggett, given that along with TWest, they're in the pantheon of Towson RB's.  I also think that they could have capped off the entire run from almost dead in '90 to the 1-AA championship game in '13 with clips of games like the Lehigh loss in the first appearance in a playoff game (to slam home the D3-D2-D1 playoff run) to TWest running for a million yards vs. EIU to the Drive at the Red Menace and culminating with the title game in Frisco.  But it was a great lookback to the history of the program and it's pretty remarkable that we've only had 4 head coaches in 50 years of the program.

There's a lot of carts getting put before the horses in this thread.

On 9/30/2018 at 2:19 PM, mat1992 said:

Confidence is everything. Belief is everything as a shooter. I wish had that when I played many years ago but I didn't. It's why I played point guard so I could feed guys that wanted buckets.

I always believed every shot I took was going down.  Problem is, I had high belief and low results...

I think the non-con season will be like a spring training for this team -- seeing where all the pieces fit and what sort of rotation Pat can work in.  I mean, let's face it, the season is the conference season and conference tournament.  That's just the reality for us mid-majors.  There's plenty of opportunities to get some good experience against quality teams in the non-con and let's see what these young pups have to offer.

I love it when we break out the gold jerseys for basketball games.  Those gold jerseys for football look outstanding.  Now can we get the white helmet with the black & gold T on it too?

September polls are laughable.  I wouldn't get too wrapped up in any of it.  If they keep winning, people will notice.  If they drop the next one against the Citadel, what will it matter anyway?  So, no sense in getting bent out of shape right now.

https://towsontigers.com/news/2018/9/15/football-scores-35-straight-points-knocks-off-10-10-villanova-45-35.aspx

Lots to work on defensively but offensively, we saw just how good this machine and this QB can be when the o-line is sturdy.  They were sturdy for most of the game today and that's a giant kick in the ass to start CAA season.

I watched a decent amount of their game against Tulane last week.  It was a pretty sluggish game offensively from both teams.  Couldn't tell whether it was just bad execution or the defenses were decent.  I tend to lean toward the former.  Wake's QB is not afraid to run (think of that dude from Villanova who I refuse to spell) and he loves going to his favorite WR, Dortch.  Our defense is going to have to be on high alert in order to stay with these guys.  But, it'll be a good tune-up for when we have to play Nova the next week.

9 hours ago, mat1992 said:

Also, we need to finish drives better and it starts with the play-calling inside the 5. I don't mind throwing fades to Clark who is 6-6 or one of the Jabari's but the throw to Gallahan, it appears they were not on the same page after Flacco faked it. I think you have to use your hammer and that's Yeedee in short-yardage. We didn't have the last season or you run Shane or Kobe on the perimter. You can also use Flacco on keepers but he's been getting pounded all night. Tom also holds onto the ball for a long time, extending the play, which is cool but he also takes more hits that way.

When he has time, he lets the play develop and throws a terrific intermediate pass. Something I haven't seen in many years. Enders was good at that as well though I think Flacco's arm was better. But they do have some similarities.

The 4th down call on the goal line at the end of the 2nd quarter was abysmal.  Go for it, yes, but don't run that misdirectional crap on the 1-yard line...not with an above-average offensive line.  We had a series with 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 1 on consecutive plays and we're throwing slants.  Keep it basic, get the first down, and extend drives.  I don't care if you have Manute Bol as a wide receiver, the fade from inside the 10 yard line is one of the worst plays in the game.  You're often throwing against 3 defenders (the live one and the 2 out of bounds lines) and there's too much that has to be perfect (placement, arc, receiver able to outjump defender) for it to work.  Oh yeah, and the receiver has to make sure to come down with the ball and hang on when he hits the ground.  I'd be totally fine with taking that goal line fade completely out of the playbook.