As much as I would have loved to seen JMU win yesterday I think expectations for some were a bit unreasonable.

Testing all new coaches, all new systems, and many new players in key positions against even a middling P5 school at home was a recipe for a blow out. The penalties and miscues early in the game led to scores and JMU was on their heals from the very beginning. TWO penalties for interfering with punt returns in the first quarter??

Maryland has been playing together for some time and has very talented upperclassmen. If JMU's first game was against just about any FCS team the results would have been much different.

Look what happened to W&M and Delaware yesterday, and their units have had much more time to mature and gel. The team who should truly be in panic mode is Towson.

I think we will only improve as the season goes on and I wouldn't be surprised if we blow out Lehigh given the difference in the speed of the game and level of talent (and hopefully a week of Withers addressing the issues from this last game).

Not nearly surprised, I said that a new coach with the same old team, doesn't equal instant success. This was to be expected, however, if JMU underperforms at home this year, then there is cause for concern.


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(08-31-2014 11:40 AM)2Buck Wrote:  As much as I would have loved to seen JMU win yesterday I think expectations for some were a bit unreasonable.

Testing all new coaches, all new systems, and many new players in key positions against even a middling P5 school at home was a recipe for a blow out. The penalties and miscues early in the game led to scores and JMU was on their heals from the very beginning. TWO penalties for interfering with punt returns in the first quarter??

Maryland has been playing together for some time and has very talented upperclassmen. If JMU's first game was against just about any FCS team the results would have been much different.

Look what happened to W&M and Delaware yesterday, and their units have had much more time to mature and gel. The team who should truly be in panic mode is Towson.

I think we will only improve as the season goes on and I wouldn't be surprised if we blow out Lehigh given the difference in the speed of the game and level of talent (and hopefully a week of Withers addressing the issues from this last game).

No one was expecting a victory but a respectable performance is not too much to ask. That was the worst performance I've witnessed by a JMU FB team in as long as I can remember, and that is not what I expected after everything I read/heard in the off-season from and about the new coaching staff.

Btw, you can't compare the VT v WM game to ours, as I was flipping back and forth on TV between the two, and WM actually put up a fight and looked MUCH better than we did against UMD.

Yeah, I'm not at all surprised that we lost the game. I expected that. The fashion in which it went down was surprising and humbling.

no surprises, I thought we'd put up more points but I expected them to lose by 4 or so TDs.

I was surprised by the game. I thought we had talent to be competitive and with a new staff and so many unknowns - we might catch UMD unprepared.

However, after we got into a 3 score hole - the game played out pretty much as would be expected at that point. I actually think it is the players and especially the transfers who got a wake-up, they have to be more disciplined and continue to work hard. Plus the coaches will need to reevaluate their preparation, with many in new roles and having more responsibility.

Hopefully the Dukes don't dwell too much on this game and prep for Lehigh. I would store away this film for later in the season and break down aspects of it all through the year. I didn't see too many highlights and who knows how the team will respond to rehashing this game in detail.

I am a little surprised....thought the game would be closer. However, this loss should not define our season. I think we will fine tune the mistakes we made.

(08-31-2014 11:40 AM)2Buck Wrote:  Look what happened to W&M and Delaware yesterday, and their units have had much more time to mature and gel. The team who should truly be in panic mode is Towson.

I agree! The rest of the conference sucked yesterday and so did we. Something to be happy about and proud of!

Thank goodness the reasonable posters are showing their face today. An excellent post.

(08-31-2014 11:48 AM)atljmualum Wrote:  

(08-31-2014 11:40 AM)2Buck Wrote:  As much as I would have loved to seen JMU win yesterday I think expectations for some were a bit unreasonable.

Testing all new coaches, all new systems, and many new players in key positions against even a middling P5 school at home was a recipe for a blow out. The penalties and miscues early in the game led to scores and JMU was on their heals from the very beginning. TWO penalties for interfering with punt returns in the first quarter??

Maryland has been playing together for some time and has very talented upperclassmen. If JMU's first game was against just about any FCS team the results would have been much different.

Look what happened to W&M and Delaware yesterday, and their units have had much more time to mature and gel. The team who should truly be in panic mode is Towson.

I think we will only improve as the season goes on and I wouldn't be surprised if we blow out Lehigh given the difference in the speed of the game and level of talent (and hopefully a week of Withers addressing the issues from this last game).

No one was expecting a victory but a respectable performance is not too much to ask. That was the worst performance I've witnessed by a JMU FB team in as long as I can remember, and that is not what I expected after everything I read/heard in the off-season from and about the new coaching staff.

Btw, you can't compare the VT v WM game to ours, as I was flipping back and forth on TV between the two, and WM actually put up a fight and looked MUCH better than we did against UMD.

The worst performance you've ever seen?! Really? Was this the first JMU game you've ever seen? Then that would apply.
The Sfu and stony brook games were more unwatchable. Richmond or odu in 2012?
Give me a break...

This game reminded me a lot of the WVU game at FedEx Field. The offense couldn't get going and the defense couldn't stop them from racking up the points. Some of the things I saw yesterday are concerning, but it's silly to freak out over this game.

We have to be able to get a better pass rush. Yesterday's was non-existent with the exception of 2-3 plays. That's just not going to work.

(08-31-2014 02:56 PM)bridgeforthduke Wrote:  This game reminded me a lot of the WVU game at FedEx Field. The offense couldn't get going and the defense couldn't stop them from racking up the points. Some of the things I saw yesterday are concerning, but it's silly to freak out over this game.

No, we need to look 10 years back. Take a look at the WVU game in '04. What went on to happened after that?

Man I am longing for an 04 or 08 type run


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(08-31-2014 04:38 PM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(08-31-2014 02:56 PM)bridgeforthduke Wrote:  This game reminded me a lot of the WVU game at FedEx Field. The offense couldn't get going and the defense couldn't stop them from racking up the points. Some of the things I saw yesterday are concerning, but it's silly to freak out over this game.

No, we need to look 10 years back. Take a look at the WVU game in '04. What went on to happened after that?

-That WVU team was likely better than the MD team (started out 8-1, finished 8-4, were ranked all year long).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_West_V...tball_team
-JMU lost worse to MD than to WVU..

Not surprised we lost.
Not surprised we lost ugly.
I am surprised at the number of mental mistake penalties.

It all goes away if JMU wins this coming Saturday

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the play of our defense. Yes, we sucked at tackling, but switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 is not an easy task. This is especially true when you are playing a team with as much talent as Maryland. Fix the tackling and our D will be just fine.

Vad Lee's performance sucked. Simple as that. However, he is coming from the triple option and his transition will take time. Football is not fair. He is going to have to improve at a faster rate than his teammates for this team to have a successful season.

I did like the play of our transfers at WR and Alden Hill. It was also good to see John Miller get a TD in his opening game. It could have a big impact on his confidence.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the performance of our true freshman punter. Kid gets great hang time on his kicks. If our gunners can figure out the fair-catch rules, we will be fine.

Can we take a minute and admit that Maryland beat WVU 37-0 last season. This was a different Maryland program and they were starting a new era in the B1G yesterday and were looking to come out strong.

No reason to overreact until we get into conference play and have performances like that, which I doubt happens. Get a win next week against Lehigh and then get pumped for the home opener!

So fired up for St Francis, such a great opponent to really get the juices flowing.

(08-31-2014 06:26 PM)Dadgum Wrote:  So fired up for St Francis, such a great opponent to really get the juices flowing.

Finally someone with a little humor. We are a serious bunch, you should be banned.