UA66

I heard the same announcement. Can't make it because of previous commitment so would someone please take good notes and report observations?

The defense continues to play pretty well. It's the offense that has gone awry. I can understand using the no-huddle offense against Hofstra in the opener to try and disrupt their defense but I wish they would just dump that idea now. It hasn't caused any problems for any of our opponents but has seemed to take the steam out of our offense. The offense looks tentative and confused. Dump the no-huddle and try and salvage an already horrendous season (6.2 points per game).

Just thinking out loud. Does your name have to be Ashley or Ashlee to play volleyball at UAlbany? Who responds when the coach calls out "Ashley!"? I guess the answer to both is "who cares as long as they can play the way these 5 Ashley(e)s do."

Thanks, Alum72 for the great pictures. It's a good feeling to see such progress.

Geez, you guys have good eyes. I finally saw it on my fourth try.

Hope I didn't put a damper on the discussion in this thread. Despite our troubles stepping up with the A-10, I am optimistic that the Danes will have a very successful NEC season. This team does have some exciting players and they are very young. I noticed that a lot of red-shirt freshmen played in the first two games. This team will get better and better as the season progresses and certainly have the horses to beat any NEC team.

There weren't many teams running a wishbone at that time which is one reason why it was successful. When it became commonplace, we did not fair as well.

It's really hard to tell since the two A-10 teams had so much talent. However, I have more confidence in our defense performing well in conference than the offense. I think the defensive line and linebackers have done fairly well. The 6 or 7 holding penalties against UMass happened because our guys were beating their offensive line and their linemen just reached out and grabbed as our guys ran by. Despite the lop-sided score. none of their backs killed us. However, I did think that the UMass receivers handled our d-backs pretty easily and the score could have been worse if UMass had passed more. Offensively, there has been little to feel good about, other than the opening drive against Hofstra. Our offensive line has been badly outplayed by some very quick opponents. Will that change against the weaker defenses - weaker compared to A-10 - of NEC teams? Bocanegra is legit. Given time to pass, he'll be very good. Running backs? Can't tell yet. Kicking game? My 89 year old mother is available. One other note: the offense seems to me to be very predictable. Some of the uniqueness in sets and play calling that has characterized Bob Ford teams since Day 1 is missing. In my opinion, running a spread offense that everyone else runs these days isn't going to get it done because defenses see it all the time, and good teams like Hofstra and UMass know how to defend it. It works if you have the horses to match up. We don't at this point of the season. UAlabny has pulled off big upsets in the past, e.g. UMaine, Central Florida, by being unique.

It would also be nice - but unlikely - if UAlbany had a marching band as great as that at UMass. They were impressive and seemed to excite the fans as much as their team did. I seem to recall that they were rated the top collegiate band in the country just a few years ago. The atmosphere at UMass was electric - and I don't mean the thunderstorm prior to the game. There were people mulling everywhere with many, many tailgate parties. The students in the end zone seats reminded me of the RAAC Rowdies times ten. The whole scene made me dream of what could be at UAlbany. In the interest of full disclosure, I have been on the staff of the Dept. of Plant and Soil Sciences at UMass for the past 28 years (now part time since my retirement 3 years ago). However, this was the first UMass football game that I have ever attended. My loyalty was and always be with UAlbany and I've preferred the trek to Albany rather than UMass since I left UA after grad school in 72.

That's a good question DP. I hadn't given him much thought. Watching him in warm ups last season, it seemed like it took all of his strength to toss up his shots from 3-pt. range. It made me wonder how he could have had such a good record as a 3-pt. shooter in high school. I've just assumed that he would ride the pine through his career here or transfer to DII or DIII.

It was reported on WNYT last evening that Brian Lillis underwent surgery yesterday and is expected to be out for at least a month. I assume, that means he'll miss the next month of practice, not a month of the season.

Oops! Good catch, Patch. My memory transfer processes don't work as well as they used. Anyway, I hope he fully recovers from this stress fracture because I think he could be the key to how far this team goes. The combination of basketball intelligence and energy level supercedes that of anyone on this team.

Story in today's Times Union on Lillis injury http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story...sdate=9/14/2005 Interesting comments by Will Brown. He's projecting Lillis as likely starter this year. Re the injury, it is a stress fracture. Cast will be off on Oct. 12. He's expected to be ready for opener on Nov. 7.

There are plenty of parking lots around the stadium. UMass rarely fills their stadium. So, there should be no problem with either.

I'm planning on it.

Ruler, you got it right!! That is the ideal scenario and a doable one.

I would hope that the current annual $8 million athletic budget would increase by at least another 50% just to keep up with like-schools such as Binghamton and Stony Brook, with whom our future should be closely linked. We are the same type of institutions and have a healthy history of rivalry. UA can be competitive with big time programs in certain sports as already shown by the lacrosse, volleyball, track, and softball teams with the budget as it is now but to continue that success you have to keep putting gas in the tank so you can continue the ride. And as everyone knows, the price of gas is going to continue to rise. As far as the football program is concerned, there is really is no choice. If Albany doesn't upgrade its facilities and begin offering skill-based scholarships, the program will fold because 1AA mid-major football is on its way to extinction. The goal should be 1AA ala UMass, Delaware, UNH. So, I wouldn't completely agree with Hall that the program is now at the "right" level. Also, a stadium of 10,000 to 12,000 would be about the right size if the program is continue.

Why is Zoellner listed as a junior on the current roster page? This must be a recent change as I'm quite sure he had been listed as a senior in earlier versions. My preference for next recruit would be a 6'9" or 6'10" center with speed and good footwork but with enough bulk to hold his position in the post. In this league, where guard and small forward play dominate, having a slow, lumbering type of center even if he is 7'+ doesn't get it done. It seems that the glaring need for a power forward has been satified by Covington and Connelly - we'll have to wait for the season to determine that for sure - so, I'd go with a pure point guard as my second preference. I think we have plenty of shooting guards for the next two years.

I was in graduate school when Bob Ford arrived on campus and I went to the first practice of that first team. Anyone remember Bernie Boggs? He was about the only star player in those days when we couldn't beat Hudson Valley Community College - but could beat Siena. Anyway, that was a long time ago. It's hard to accept the fact that the era of Coach Ford will come to an end someday, but time does march on. I certainly hope that day is still a long way off. Most of all, I hope that Coach Ford makes the decision when to leave and is not pressured into it by anyone. For what he has accomplished and the way that he did it - always with the greatest integrity - he has earned the right to do it his way when he is ready. This University owes him at least that much.

Agreed. Lillis impressed me from the first time I saw him in last year's open scrimmage. His talents are not only obvious, but there is something in his character that tells you that he will get better and better. If this injury is serious, it could be a bigger loss than were Jamar or Iati because it comes at a time when this team has the opportunity to do something special.

Ruler, funny you should mention that many starters from last year are now lower on the depth chart. That was the first thing that struck me as I read the chart. That alone should be an indication that this team, on paper at least, will be much better than last year's team. One player that I did not see on the depth chart is Apollo Story. He did a lot of self promotion earlier this year over on the Hansen site. The biggest concern I have about this team is the kicking game. It was weak last year and with Lynch not on the team, it seems to be even weaker.

The Times Useless is too busy scouring the bare cupboards of $iena ahtletics for stories that don't exist. So far, I have not seen any stories on local TV network affiliates either - beyond the brief clips during the first few days of practice. However, with people returning to work after the Labor Day weekend, there may be some stories forthcoming.

It's been surprisingly quiet on this site re the game this weekend. Anyone have any insights as to how ready this team is? Who will start at QB, in the backfield, wide receivers? I sense a lot of anticipation but also a lot of uncertainty. I can't recall going into a season with so little information available.

Sorry to divert from the purpose of this board but given the immense tragedy resulting from Katrina I thought the follwoing web site might be of interest to those looking for ways to help the victims in some way: http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_k...na.shtm#canhelp

Dane Pound, Great job on the re-design of the site. I especially like the pictures (currently the offensive line pix) at the top of the page. Thanks!