James Madison 10/4

[Eli]

I will agree that it was his best game of the season possibly (although last weeks first half wasn't too bad either). Still a lot of plays that make you shake your head though. Perhaps the wet ball had something to do with it, who knows. He threw well short/into the ground multiple times.

 

I will also say this...JMU's secondary is as suspect as ours. They let up some big catches to Parker and Gontarek.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Ilko

[Eli]

5 games in...what do folks think we need to do to get into the playoffs this year? Is it even possible?

 

I think we have a solid chance of beating Richmond, Maine, and Colgate...maybe 2 out of 3...which would bring us to 6-2. I think we lose to NH, Delaware, and Villanova though...and beat SB to finish the season...making us 7-5/8-4 for the season. I'm optimistic though...I love my UA FB.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Ilko

[haggyland]

To be fair with the critique of the referees, I thought the play where Fiacchi dropped the ball and the referees were blowing the whistle as JMU was recovering it worth nobody between them and their end zone was a fumble, and not the incomplete pass it was ruled. That play would have made it 28-7 JMU at the half; instead, Albany scores on their next possession to make it a one score game at the half.

 

 

Lots of positives from tonight; a win would have been great, but this team is improving each game, and is light years ahead of where it was last year.

 

Finally, I thought Ngachie had the best game of his career (one crappy roughing the passer penalty aside); dude was playing on the line a lot of the game, and getting great pressure.

[haggyland]

Double post.

Edited October 5, 2014 by haggyland

[UAalum72]

In between Click's 9:24 post and Ilko's I ran thru the entire JMU forum's in-game thread. They of course were complaining about the refs, especially the ejection for the blow to the head early. They also mocked our 37-member band (their's has 497), the crowd of 74 fans, and especially our announcers they had to listen to on the Danezone - wrong names, mispronunciations, don't know their mikes are on during commercials).

 

I thought the halo rule was eliminated, that's the only way they could've called interference on the punt fumble. The offensive interference and the hit out of bounds also looked like sketchy calls, as was the helmet hit against them, but I was 80 yards away, and with no replay it's tough to tell.

 

JMUFan2008: 1) JMU not wanting to go under center on 4th down. Albany did it and it clearly worked. Then to close out the first half we did a victory formation. Last time I checked this is basically the exact same play as a QB sneak...except we just need Vad to take one step and fall forward.

 

2) Tried to pay for the broadcast, put in my email and password to register and got an error. Tried it again to no avail. Used the free stream instead. Glad given #3.

 

3) Those announcers were TERRIBLE. It's like they weren't able to look at the roster sheet sitting a foot from their faces. Calling them the wrong names, mispronouncing their name, adding entire extra syllables, not knowing anything about football... And if I had to hear one more time how cheated Albany was today because of a penalty on a muffed punt THAT THEY WOULDN'T EVEN REPLAY I was going to lose it. All the way until the end of the freaking game every 5 minutes they brought it up again. Oh, and it's a shovel pass. And not figuring out that their mics are still on during commercials (stupid 9-volt batteries). The awful selfie video.

 

4) We got robbed in the reffing department. Having a terrible penalty called and getting a player ejected for that was ridiculous...especially after the receiver had already taken a few steps. But again, [replay on that one. Oh, and how about the "incomplete pass" that was really a fumble that would have been returned for a TD for a 14-point swing at the end of the second half. We could have gone into halftime up 28-7 and the game would have never been close again. You can say we shouldn't have been in that position, but as a ref you let the play run and then talk about it after. You don't blow it dead when our guy picks it up and starts running. Instead they go into the lockerroom with momentum. There were a couple other really bad calls, but those were the ones that hurt us the most. And they would never show replays of them. and for something good about us rom them

 

and for something good about us from them:

Bleeding Purple: I wouldn't mind having their coach. As far as I'm concerned that school should be proud of their team. Sort of our opposite, they are doing a $hitload with very little to work with. They are a team. We are a bunch of individuals. They wrap people up when tackling. We just throw out body at the runner and hope to knock him down. The only thing that I agree with the announcers tonight is that in every position we looked to be a couple inches taller and 10 pounds heavier yet have speed.

Fiacchi still only has one interception for the year. The turnover ratio is keeping us in games this year.

 

With the weak OOC schedule, we probably need to go at least 5-3 in league this year to make the playoffs with a 9-3 record. Ilko, Delaware lost to Sacred Heart today, we've got a better chance of beating them than Richmond.

[Eli]

Ahh yes, that play. Again, a replay would have been freakin nice (YOU READING THIS BOB FORD FIELD AV GUY!?), but that play was called dead instantly...so ref must have seen the arm going forward. Hard to say without a proper replay though.

 

Refs are humans, I understand that, but it felt like UA got a SERIOUSLY raw deal.

 

EDIT: Didn't realize JMU player was tossed for that hit. The refs didn't announce it. Sounds like both teams got screwed a bit...but I still stand firm with the statement that UA got the worse of it.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Ilko

[UAalum72]

JMU forum now says that on a fair catch, you can't recover a muff (or hit the receiver) until after the ball hits the ground. Still would've liked a replay, since the refs didn't explain it.

 

I'm not sure if there were replays of ANY of the crucial penalties.

[Eli]

There weren't...and now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the ball hit the ground. Why wouldn't it? Albany guy wouldn't hit JMU guy until the ball was 'live'? Sounds like them just trying to make it seem like it was a bang bang play by the refs. That would have set us up at their 20 or whatever...of course they'd want it in their favor. None of the blown calls were as bad as that...that was ATROCIOUS IMO. I'm still mad about it hours later.

[Dane Pound]

JMU forum now says that on a fair catch, you can't recover a muff (or hit the receiver) until after the ball hits the ground. Still would've liked a replay, since the refs didn't explain it.

 

I'm not sure if there were replays of ANY of the crucial penalties.

 

I would have liked a reply too. It didn't seem like he bobbled the ball at all. It just went through his hands, hit the ground, then he got hit. I'm sure I'm biased. I left thinking I saw a lot of weird officiating things I don't usually see happen, happen in one game and happen in bunches.

 

Overall, this team played their heart out and deserved to win. Hopefully a big crowd gets that done next week.

 

Considering the rain and gloom forecast, it was actually a really good night for a football game. Sorry so many people stayed away. As the guy I went with said, that was the worst good game I've ever watched.

[UAalum72]

Late kick dooms Danes - coach also mentions wanting intentional grounding on their botched kick. Loss of down still would've made it fourth down for another kick though. I'm always confused on the rule - it obviously wasn't a spike to stop the clock. Channel 13 highlights showed the play, he was inside the box so didn't he have to throw it past the line of scrimmage? The pass was at the feet and behind #84 but who knows if he was lined up as an eligible receiver on the FG.

 

Ch-13 did show that Martin never did get over the top of the pile at the goal line. On a dive you've got to clear it on your initial leap, and our O-line didn't keep the defenders down.

[uofalbany]

Yep, too bad we didn't punch it in on 4th down. Certainly a momentum swing.

What's a decent pass completion percentage at the college level? I thought he had some nice long balls yesterday.

And to point out again, he's only had what, one interception. Got to give him credit for his aggressive running too.

[dslyank]

My 2¢. The punt was right right in front of me and in NO way was he interfered. The ref threw the flag so fast, it was almost as if he was anticipating something bad happening? The offensive interference on Cole was +70 yards away, but from the angle I had the defender NEVER looked back, which means (as I understand the rule) Cole could have kicked him in the teeth [which he did not--in fact did not do much of anything offensive] and it is NO penalty. On Fiacchi "fumble" again pretty much right in front of me; it was bang bang, but it really did appear his arm WAS going forward. Again, the call was made so quickly, it almost seemed this group all night assumed calls, rather than observing, thinking, discussing. They were so quick with their calls, they were either the best crew ever or as many have said the WORST. I have never understood the grounding rule {72 does a good job of explaining some of it in his post above}; but the play at the end certainly DESERVED some discussion by the crew. Coach seemed to be pleading to have it reviewed/discussed, the the stripes acted as if they could not. Even though there were no replay camera's available, there is nothing restricting the refs from having a discussion and changing a call. But this crew all game seemed to the detriment of both UA & JMU, fast to make a call or throw a flag, but resistant to discussion and getting the play right.

 

In a separate but related comment: I was watching part of the brook-Towson game; and during a disputed call which WAS being reviewed formally via replay camera, the announcers said several coaches {did not say which ones} have complained to the league about the inequity of having replay capabilities @ some games and not others. I guess they feel that officiating has SO MUCH impact on a game, that the replay rule needs to be consistent throughout the CAA and not arbitrarily available as it is now. It certainly seems to me, it should be used at every game or NONE at all. Conference championship and at large bids certainly can be affected by the use or lack thereof. To have it "part time" seems capricious and leaves the league suspect on several levels. THOUGHTS?

Edited October 5, 2014 by dslyank

[UAalum72]

What's a decent pass completion percentage at the college level? I thought he had some nice long balls yesterday.

And to point out again, he's only had what, one interception. Got to give him credit for his aggressive running too.

The team is 105th in pass %, but Fiacchi currently ranked 44th of 100 listed for FCS in passing efficiency, whatever that really means. 61st in Passing Yards per game. Team is first in fumbles lost, turnovers lost, and turnover ratio (all good), and tenth in interceptions lost. Team is 109th in kickoff returns and 115th in punt returns, 96th in 3rd down conversion defense and 95th in 4th down defense.

http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div

[Eli]

In a separate but related comment: I was watching part of the brook-Towson game; and during a disputed call which WAS being reviewed formally via replay camera, the announcers said several coaches {did not say which ones} have complained to the league about the inequity of having replay capabilities @ some games and not others. I guess they feel that officiating has SO MUCH impact on a game, that the replay rule needs to be consistent throughout the CAA and not arbitrarily available as it is now. It certainly seems to me, it should be used at every game or NONE at all. Conference championship and at large bids certainly can be affected by the use or lack thereof. To have it "part time" seems capricious and leaves the league suspect on several levels. THOUGHTS?

 

[UAalum72]

Replay in CAA games is a test this year; I suspect they'll implement it in all league games (at least) next year.

http://www.vuhoops.com/2014/9/18/6395355/caa-football-testing-instant-replay-this-season-villanova-will-host.

 

One other thing, I'm surprised we didn't burn any timeouts at the end, not that "freezing the kicker" works very often anyway.