(06-20-2015 11:56 AM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 10:26 PM)Hotrod829 Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 06:43 AM)Potomac Wrote:  I just don't know how someone can seriously project us to get to the national championship game when both of our last two playoff appearances have placed us in the same half of the bracket as North Dakota State. I have no confidence that we, nor really anyone nationally, can beat them in the playoffs on the road.

I have to see how we are at the end of training camp before I start predicting. I have never been a fan of a running back by committee and Vad Lee needs to be super healthy all year long for us to even have a chance.

And I 'm waiting to see this defense with some new freshman.

Never been a big fan of RB by committee either. I guess it depends on how that committee works. You need two backs IMO but I think we overdid it last year. When the game is in the balance and you put Taylor Woods in on the last drive for his first PT all game and give him the ball, I just don't understand that. Then you have things like Hill playing one week and getting carries and the next he doesn't get a snap. Then Abdullah is starting and the primary back and then the next week it's Miller. They you bring in Sharpe as a freshman. That's not a committee, it's a WWE Royal Rumble. At some point you have to let one or two guys get a rhythm and not be so timid to play if they miss one hole. That seemed ridiculous to me.

Agree. And you didn't even mention Latney. Playing 5-6 RBs is a real headscratcher. And it wasn't even like there were a bunch of major injuries..

(06-20-2015 11:56 AM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 10:26 PM)Hotrod829 Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 06:43 AM)Potomac Wrote:  I just don't know how someone can seriously project us to get to the national championship game when both of our last two playoff appearances have placed us in the same half of the bracket as North Dakota State. I have no confidence that we, nor really anyone nationally, can beat them in the playoffs on the road.

I have to see how we are at the end of training camp before I start predicting. I have never been a fan of a running back by committee and Vad Lee needs to be super healthy all year long for us to even have a chance.

And I 'm waiting to see this defense with some new freshman.

Never been a big fan of RB by committee either. I guess it depends on how that committee works. You need two backs IMO but I think we overdid it last year. When the game is in the balance and you put Taylor Woods in on the last drive for his first PT all game and give him the ball, I just don't understand that. Then you have things like Hill playing one week and getting carries and the next he doesn't get a snap. Then Abdullah is starting and the primary back and then the next week it's Miller. They you bring in Sharpe as a freshman. That's not a committee, it's a WWE Royal Rumble. At some point you have to let one or two guys get a rhythm and not be so timid to play if they miss one hole. That seemed ridiculous to me.

I'm hoping for Khalid and Cardon......and mix maybe Sharp in there to see if he can be a change of pace back.

(06-20-2015 08:41 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(06-20-2015 11:56 AM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 10:26 PM)Hotrod829 Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 06:43 AM)Potomac Wrote:  I just don't know how someone can seriously project us to get to the national championship game when both of our last two playoff appearances have placed us in the same half of the bracket as North Dakota State. I have no confidence that we, nor really anyone nationally, can beat them in the playoffs on the road.

I have to see how we are at the end of training camp before I start predicting. I have never been a fan of a running back by committee and Vad Lee needs to be super healthy all year long for us to even have a chance.

And I 'm waiting to see this defense with some new freshman.

Never been a big fan of RB by committee either. I guess it depends on how that committee works. You need two backs IMO but I think we overdid it last year. When the game is in the balance and you put Taylor Woods in on the last drive for his first PT all game and give him the ball, I just don't understand that. Then you have things like Hill playing one week and getting carries and the next he doesn't get a snap. Then Abdullah is starting and the primary back and then the next week it's Miller. They you bring in Sharpe as a freshman. That's not a committee, it's a WWE Royal Rumble. At some point you have to let one or two guys get a rhythm and not bcce so timid to play if they miss one hole. That seemed ridiculous to me.

Agree. And you didn't even mention Latney. Playing 5-6 RBs is a real headscratcher. And it wasn't even like there were a bunch of major injuries..

Watching or trying to discern the coaching staff's decisions as to who started and/or who got the reps was a head scratcher last season, particularly at the beginning of the season. It displayed a definite bias towards former FBS transfers and as a result some adjustments had to be made as regarding playing time. I hope Withers has had more time with his team now, and will settle on a pair to start, and maybe a 3rd RB with special skills to play in certain situations. There are no Curtis Keetons on the roster.

Nope, there are no Keetons but hopefully one or two guys will emerge and make a decision for the coaching staff. Hill is on defense now so he's out of the mix. We kind of did the same head scratcher at receiver early last year too with Tapley. I have no reason to bash Tapley but I don't see how the coaches watched practice and thought he was a starter and should get that many targets. About half way through the year they finally got it right.

(06-21-2015 10:28 AM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  Nope, there are no Keetons but hopefully one or two guys will emerge and make a decision for the coaching staff. Hill is on defense now so he's out of the mix. We kind of did the same head scratcher at receiver early last year too with Tapley. I have no reason to bash Tapley but I don't see how the coaches watched practice and thought he was a starter and should get that many targets. About half way through the year they finally got it right.

I see that when EW gets involved in recruiting a kid, that kid will get a shot and all kids who someone else brought to the table, has to work a lot harder to get his chance.

Though Tapley was a transfer and Woods came to us as a freshman, EW was the one who brought each to JMU. I'd love to see Woods become a great back, but that was beyond reason the way he tried Woods for the final play against UD and might very well have killed the kid's confidence for sometime.

I said this awhile back, but Woods was put in a game for some mop up duty earlier in the season, and just as he was about to be hit, Woods turned his back towards the defender as if he was afraid of getting hurt. This is why I was livid when EW sent Woods in after the timeout against UD.

When you stand on the sideline for almost 3 hours, you're dead cold. I don't know if any of our backs would have scored against UD but putting him in that position made zero sense. Yeah, EW does seem to think that if he didn't recruit the kid, he can't play. Brown, Harold, and Lee are all in NFL camps. I guess this will lessen going forward. I also thought he played Marlowe out of position for the first 4 or 5 games and it was blatantly obvious. He shouldn't have been covering guys at the LOS and he was horrible at it. When they finally put him back at his natural position not covering slot receivers at the LOS he was sooooooo much better.

(06-20-2015 08:55 PM)Hotrod829 Wrote:  

(06-20-2015 11:56 AM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 10:26 PM)Hotrod829 Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 06:43 AM)Potomac Wrote:  I just don't know how someone can seriously project us to get to the national championship game when both of our last two playoff appearances have placed us in the same half of the bracket as North Dakota State. I have no confidence that we, nor really anyone nationally, can beat them in the playoffs on the road.

I have to see how we are at the end of training camp before I start predicting. I have never been a fan of a running back by committee and Vad Lee needs to be super healthy all year long for us to even have a chance.

And I 'm waiting to see this defense with some new freshman.

Never been a big fan of RB by committee either. I guess it depends on how that committee works. You need two backs IMO but I think we overdid it last year. When the game is in the balance and you put Taylor Woods in on the last drive for his first PT all game and give him the ball, I just don't understand that. Then you have things like Hill playing one week and getting carries and the next he doesn't get a snap. Then Abdullah is starting and the primary back and then the next week it's Miller. They you bring in Sharpe as a freshman. That's not a committee, it's a WWE Royal Rumble. At some point you have to let one or two guys get a rhythm and not be so timid to play if they miss one hole. That seemed ridiculous to me.

I'm hoping for Khalid and Cardon......and mix maybe Sharp in there to see if he can be a change of pace back.

Agree, that is the mix I would like to see as well. Cardon was set to be JMUs best back last year until he popped that achilles.

Moreland, Stallings and Ford bump... Anyone care to change their prediction? I'll stick with what I said earlier 8-3 or 9-2. However, leaning more towards the 8-3 direction.

Morehead State, W 1-0
Lehigh, W 2-0
Albany, W 3-0/1-0
at SMU, L 3-1 (BUT, we've got a shot)
Stony Brook, W 4-1/2-0
at Towson, W 5-1/3-0
at Elon, W 6-1/4-0
Richmond, W 7-1/5-0
at W&M, L 8-1/6-0
at Delaware, W 8-2/6-1
Nova, L 8-3/6-2

Travel to Liberty in first round and win in OT
lose on the road in second round
Final record...9-4

(06-26-2015 11:32 AM)JMU_71 Wrote:  Morehead State, W 1-0
Lehigh, W 2-0
Albany, W 3-0/1-0
at SMU, L 3-1 (BUT, we've got a shot)
Stony Brook, W 4-1/2-0
at Towson, W 5-1/3-0
at Elon, W 6-1/4-0
Richmond, W 7-1/5-0
at W&M, L 8-1/6-0
at Delaware, W 8-2/6-1
Nova, W 8-3/6-2

Travel to Liberty in first round and win in OT
lose on the road in second round
Final record...9-4

A little confused. You have us losing 2 games and being 8-3. Did you mean the Nova game to actually be a loss? I think if we go 9-2, we will either get a bye in the first round or host. If we are 8-2/6-1 with Nova coming into town and with a potential first round bye or sealing at minimum a likely hosting in our first game (and yes, I know hosting has much to do about the bidding process), not only will it make for a great atmosphere for the Nova game with a lot riding on it but I like our chances given that added motivation as well.

Truthfully, while I predicted us to go 9-2/7-1, I don't see a single game that I think is a definite loss (as opposed to last year with Maryland being that).

(06-26-2015 12:54 PM)Wear Purple Wrote:  

(06-26-2015 11:32 AM)JMU_71 Wrote:  Morehead State, W 1-0
Lehigh, W 2-0
Albany, W 3-0/1-0
at SMU, L 3-1 (BUT, we've got a shot)
Stony Brook, W 4-1/2-0
at Towson, W 5-1/3-0
at Elon, W 6-1/4-0
Richmond, W 7-1/5-0
at W&M, L 8-1/6-0
at Delaware, W 8-2/6-1
Nova, W 8-3/6-2

Travel to Liberty in first round and win in OT
lose on the road in second round
Final record...9-4

A little confused. You have us losing 2 games and being 8-3. Did you mean the Nova game to actually be a loss? I think if we go 9-2, we will either get a bye in the first round or host. If we are 8-2/6-1 with Nova coming into town and with a potential first round bye or sealing at minimum a likely hosting in our first game (and yes, I know hosting has much to do about the bidding process), not only will it make for a great atmosphere for the Nova game with a lot riding on it but I like our chances given that added motivation as well.

Truthfully, while I predicted us to go 9-2/7-1, I don't see a single game that I think is a definite loss (as opposed to last year with Maryland being that).

Yes, I see us losing to Nova. I changed it.

(06-26-2015 11:32 AM)JMU_71 Wrote:  Morehead State, W 1-0
Lehigh, W 2-0
Albany, W 3-0/1-0
at SMU, L 3-1 (BUT, we've got a shot)
Stony Brook, W 4-1/2-0
at Towson, W 5-1/3-0
at Elon, W 6-1/4-0
Richmond, W 7-1/5-0
at W&M, L 8-1/6-0
at Delaware, W 8-2/6-1
Nova, L 8-3/6-2

Travel to Liberty in first round and win in OT
lose on the road in second round
Final record...9-4

I concur. I did say 8-3 regular season but did't go game by game earlier. I had 2-1 in playoffs, but changed it to 1-1, so the same 9-4 overall as 71...

game times http://www.jmusports.com/news/2015/6/29/...50912.aspx

Ratings program I'd prefer not to share the name of but typically does a reasonable job even at the FCS preseason level. 5 games Dukes projected to win by double digits, including first 3 games of season. A Touchdown favorite in 7 of first 8 games, and 8 games in total.

Morehead St. 20.1 James Madison 57.59 77.69 37.49 -37.49 09/05/2015

Lehigh 24.58 James Madison 41.79 66.37 17.22 -17.22 09/12/2015

Albany 22.83 James Madison 35.39 58.22 12.56 -12.56 09/19/2015

James Madison 31.27 SMU 29.66 60.93 -1.61 1.61 09/26/2015

Stony Brook 18.97 James Madison 27.95 46.92 8.98 -8.98 10/03/2015

James Madison 33.09 Towson 26.08 59.18 -7.01 7.01 10/10/2015

James Madison 34.59 Elon 19.77 54.36 -14.82 14.82 10/17/2015

Richmond 29.38 James Madison 36.49 65.87 7.1 -7.1 10/24/2015

James Madison 28.66 William & Mary 32.1 60.77 3.44 -3.44 10/31/2015

James Madison 37.98 Delaware 27.56 65.53 -10.42 10.42 11/14/2015

Villanova 35.89 James Madison 30.65 66.55 -5.24 5.24 11/21/2015

ugh please don't lose to the Nerds.

(07-13-2015 02:23 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  ugh please don't lose to the Nerds.

The odds are starting to go against us. They have too good of a program for us to keep winning against.

^ I won't hear anything of it. Vad Lee will destroy nerds.

(07-13-2015 03:05 PM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(07-13-2015 02:23 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  ugh please don't lose to the Nerds.

The odds are starting to go against us. They have too good of a program for us to keep winning against.

(07-13-2015 02:21 PM)UofRfan Wrote:  Ratings program I'd prefer not to share the name of but typically does a reasonable job even at the FCS preseason level. 5 games Dukes projected to win by double digits, including first 3 games of season. A Touchdown favorite in 7 of first 8 games, and 8 games in total.

Morehead St. 20.1 James Madison 57.59 77.69 37.49 -37.49 09/05/2015

Lehigh 24.58 James Madison 41.79 66.37 17.22 -17.22 09/12/2015

Albany 22.83 James Madison 35.39 58.22 12.56 -12.56 09/19/2015

James Madison 31.27 SMU 29.66 60.93 -1.61 1.61 09/26/2015

Stony Brook 18.97 James Madison 27.95 46.92 8.98 -8.98 10/03/2015

James Madison 33.09 Towson 26.08 59.18 -7.01 7.01 10/10/2015

James Madison 34.59 Elon 19.77 54.36 -14.82 14.82 10/17/2015

Richmond 29.38 James Madison 36.49 65.87 7.1 -7.1 10/24/2015

James Madison 28.66 William & Mary 32.1 60.77 3.44 -3.44 10/31/2015

James Madison 37.98 Delaware 27.56 65.53 -10.42 10.42 11/14/2015

Villanova 35.89 James Madison 30.65 66.55 -5.24 5.24 11/21/2015

Our last 4 games are going to be tough but overall it's actually pretty favorable to us having a good season. We have Nova at home and a bye before Delaware so we should be in good shape heading into the playoffs, especially if it's riding high on a Nova win and possible first round bye.

W&M has UVA, Delaware, Nova, and New Hampshire with no bye in the weeks leading up to our game. It will be interesting to see if they can make it through that gauntlet in one piece.

Anything is better than last year's CAA schedule where it seemed like everyone had a bye the week before we played them. That makes a tough road.