Here is the first of what I'm sure will be a lot of football previews to come out in the next few months.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/05/...eview-2021

A decent evaluation, but they did not talk about special teams at all, which I think will be a key factor for the Eagles this year. I don't doubt that the running game will improve, especially if Boone can stay healthy. And with an experienced O-line and what I anticipate will be an improved D-line, I think the win mark needs to be 7.5. To say six wins would be a good season, especially with the highly likely chance for 3 wins in the OOC schedule, is understating this team's potential. Put my money on 8 wins. And I'm not counting any post-season activity in that. Give them a MAC win and a bowl win, and I don't think 10 wins is out of the question for this Eagle team.

Mediocre preview that's obviously written simply by studying the stats and looking at the roster. Not much insight in this. Phil Steele's is the only preview worth looking at.

(05-17-2021 05:53 PM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  Mediocre preview that's obviously written simply by studying the stats and looking at the roster. Not much insight in this. Phil Steele's is the only preview worth looking at.

Agree with that. This is a step up from crappy Athlon but nowhere near Phil Steele's. 6.5 seems low for the talent returning.

(05-17-2021 05:31 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  A decent evaluation, but they did not talk about special teams at all, which I think will be a key factor for the Eagles this year. I don't doubt that the running game will improve, especially if Boone can stay healthy. And with an experienced O-line and what I anticipate will be an improved D-line, I think the win mark needs to be 7.5. To say six wins would be a good season, especially with the highly likely chance for 3 wins in the OOC schedule, is understating this team's potential. Put my money on 8 wins. And I'm not counting any post-season activity in that. Give them a MAC win and a bowl win, and I don't think 10 wins is out of the question for this Eagle team.

Agreed Cid. I think 6 wins would be fine but not in our minds taking a next big step for the program. I think 7 wins should be a goal and anything past that would be awesome. 6 wins for what we have coming back at QB, the O-Line, Boone, T.E.'s, Beydoun, Drummond and an elite special teams unit I dont see how we cant win 7 to 8.

(05-17-2021 09:17 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  

(05-17-2021 05:31 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  A decent evaluation, but they did not talk about special teams at all, which I think will be a key factor for the Eagles this year. I don't doubt that the running game will improve, especially if Boone can stay healthy. And with an experienced O-line and what I anticipate will be an improved D-line, I think the win mark needs to be 7.5. To say six wins would be a good season, especially with the highly likely chance for 3 wins in the OOC schedule, is understating this team's potential. Put my money on 8 wins. And I'm not counting any post-season activity in that. Give them a MAC win and a bowl win, and I don't think 10 wins is out of the question for this Eagle team.

Agreed Cid. I think 6 wins would be fine but not in our minds taking a next big step for the program. I think 7 wins should be a goal and anything past that would be awesome. 6 wins for what we have coming back at QB, the O-Line, Boone, T.E.'s, Beydoun, Drummond and an elite special teams unit I dont see how we cant win 7 to 8.

I've been saying this for months, if CC can't guide this team with all that we've returning, and a very easy OOC schedule to at least 7-5 then it's never going to happen under him..........I think 8-5 has to be the goal! 6-6 would be a complete failure! Even the article suggests a 3-1 start! 3-1 OOC and 4-4 MAC record equals 7-5! I'm hoping for 3-1 OOC and A 5-3 MAC record! I think that's very realistic for a coach in his 8th year!

Never and always are always overused. I predicted 6-6 and a bowl game. I am not saying we can't do better than that. However depth at WR well... counting on alot of young kids, we are STILL looking I believe for more WRs and DTs. The fact is depth wise at LB and WR for example we are counting on the young guys to step up ditto RB, Boone's injury single handed scratched out our entire running game last year. My wife and I are completely vaccinated and we are excited about actually see in person this fall football with a great home schedule. We will bring along masks for restroom breaks.

I find this discussion kind of incomplete.

The difference between 7 - 5 or 6 - 6 or even 8 - 4 or 5 - 7 can be luck, injuries, etc.

Folks tend to treat it like a math test with certainty: someone makes $40 / hour and works 40 hours per week. Pays taxes and other deductions, how much should he see in his paycheck?

There is NO uncertainty there. Once can get all of the numbers (withholding tables, insurance deductions, etc.) to complete the equation.

Here, we do not know our injuries, our opponents injuries, the 'bounce of the ball,' and other random effects, etc.

The 'causes' of an 8 - 4 or 5 - 7 season may be unknown to us now. What happens if he have injuries at WI?

The most reassuring thing I can add is that we have two very good QBs, and injury to a top notch QB can normally be a high risk of a underachieving season. By bringing in a very good QB, C.C. took steps to mitigate that risk of losing a very good QB to injury.

(05-17-2021 05:53 PM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  Mediocre preview that's obviously written simply by studying the stats and looking at the roster. Not much insight in this. Phil Steele's is the only preview worth looking at.

I would agree with your assessment of the preview Nickle. I am sick and tired of hearing of how good our linebackers are due to their tackle statistics. In the Neathery 4-2-5 defense, the Mike LB will always be the top tackler as witnessed by Rachwal and Beltran previously. The Sam LB will have a bunch as well. Simply looking at stats, one could say that Myrick and Speights had good seasons last year when they clearly did not. We got run all over.

That said I truly appreciate the post Sellers! I love the fact that fellow fans do the leg work and share this type of info!

(05-18-2021 04:55 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(05-17-2021 05:53 PM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  Mediocre preview that's obviously written simply by studying the stats and looking at the roster. Not much insight in this. Phil Steele's is the only preview worth looking at.

I would agree with your assessment of the preview Nickle. I am sick and tired of hearing of how good our linebackers are due to their tackle statistics. In the Neathery 4-2-5 defense, the Mike LB will always be the top tackler as witnessed by Rachwal and Beltran previously. The Sam LB will have a bunch as well. Simply looking at stats, one could say that Myrick and Speights had good seasons last year when they clearly did not. We got run all over.

That said I truly appreciate the post Sellers! I love the fact that fellow fans do the leg work and share this type of info!

No problem! Even though I posted it I agree with everyone saying it was not a very good preview. Others have touched on the LBers (they were arguably the worst unit of the D), but also I thought they were off base on their evaluation of the O-line and I thought Hutchinson played much better than they him credit for.

I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

If you are referring to Dimitri Douglas, he is eligible. The Eagles will have possibly the deepest OL crew in the MAC this coming season. And from what I'm hearing these guys are really responding well to Coach Coughlin. If anyone was concerned there may be a little letdown with a new O-Line coach, it appears you can rest easy.

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

As stated in the 2021 recruiting thread and this one the coaching staff has been looking at additional WRs (we just got a transfer) and defensive linemen. JUCOs graduate folks this month. I'm sure we will be adding some additional person in both these areas and maybe RB. Remember Mackay left so there's a spot open.

(05-18-2021 11:12 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

If you are referring to Dimitri Douglas, he is eligible. The Eagles will have possibly the deepest OL crew in the MAC this coming season. And from what I'm hearing these guys are really responding well to Coach Coughlin. If anyone was concerned there may be a little letdown with a new O-Line coach, it appears you can rest easy.

We are stocked up on the OL-for years.

(05-19-2021 05:00 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 11:12 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

If you are referring to Dimitri Douglas, he is eligible. The Eagles will have possibly the deepest OL crew in the MAC this coming season. And from what I'm hearing these guys are really responding well to Coach Coughlin. If anyone was concerned there may be a little letdown with a new O-Line coach, it appears you can rest easy.

We are stocked up on the OL-for years.

Love hearing the depth we have at O-Line. I was big on Alex H. as a recruit and thought he was a great add for us. I assume he will be in the rotation this year with a likely starting role next yr. Am I correct?

Also....any bets on who will start on the line? Donnelon, Sow, Dooley, VanHoeven, Johnson ???? What about Howie, Dmitri, McAdams, Eaton? I would assume these guys need to get snaps as we would graduate a few starters.

(05-19-2021 09:41 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  

(05-19-2021 05:00 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 11:12 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

If you are referring to Dimitri Douglas, he is eligible. The Eagles will have possibly the deepest OL crew in the MAC this coming season. And from what I'm hearing these guys are really responding well to Coach Coughlin. If anyone was concerned there may be a little letdown with a new O-Line coach, it appears you can rest easy.

We are stocked up on the OL-for years.

Love hearing the depth we have at O-Line. I was big on Alex H. as a recruit and thought he was a great add for us. I assume he will be in the rotation this year with a likely starting role next yr. Am I correct?

Also....any bets on who will start on the line? Donnelon, Sow, Dooley, VanHoeven, Johnson ???? What about Howie, Dmitri, McAdams, Eaton? I would assume these guys need to get snaps as we would graduate a few starters.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Much will be determined by how Coach Coughlin wants to use the guys. When Meadows was here, he tended to have his starting crew but would rotate guys in and out during the game to give guys rest. That resulted in a larger number of guys having game experience. Patton had his starting crew and basically stuck with them for the whole game. The #2's saw very little game action under his schemes.

At this point, it's anybody's guess how Coach Coughlin will manage the squad in-game. As far as coaching style goes, the word is he is kind of a blend of Meadows and Patton. It's my understanding that he is all about discipline and focus on the line like Patton was, but encourages the guys to know themselves as players and make the small adjustments and tweaks in their playstyle that allow them to take advantage of their physical/skill differences like Meadows did.

As far as the starters, it's safe to assume that last year's crew will get the go this year. They were a solid group last year, and with one more year of weightlifting and practice under their belt, they should be an even more solid squad this year. Will Howie, Douglas, McAdams, Bates, or Eaton bloom this year and be able to grab some playtime away from the starting squad? Personally, I hope so, but ultimately I think we are going to have to wait and see. Again, a lot of that will depend on how Coughlin wants to use the guys.

(05-20-2021 08:37 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(05-19-2021 09:41 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  

(05-19-2021 05:00 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 11:12 PM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

If you are referring to Dimitri Douglas, he is eligible. The Eagles will have possibly the deepest OL crew in the MAC this coming season. And from what I'm hearing these guys are really responding well to Coach Coughlin. If anyone was concerned there may be a little letdown with a new O-Line coach, it appears you can rest easy.

We are stocked up on the OL-for years.

Love hearing the depth we have at O-Line. I was big on Alex H. as a recruit and thought he was a great add for us. I assume he will be in the rotation this year with a likely starting role next yr. Am I correct?

Also....any bets on who will start on the line? Donnelon, Sow, Dooley, VanHoeven, Johnson ???? What about Howie, Dmitri, McAdams, Eaton? I would assume these guys need to get snaps as we would graduate a few starters.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Much will be determined by how Coach Coughlin wants to use the guys. When Meadows was here, he tended to have his starting crew but would rotate guys in and out during the game to give guys rest. That resulted in a larger number of guys having game experience. Patton had his starting crew and basically stuck with them for the whole game. The #2's saw very little game action under his schemes.

At this point, it's anybody's guess how Coach Coughlin will manage the squad in-game. As far as coaching style goes, the word is he is kind of a blend of Meadows and Patton. It's my understanding that he is all about discipline and focus on the line like Patton was, but encourages the guys to know themselves as players and make the small adjustments and tweaks in their playstyle that allow them to take advantage of their physical/skill differences like Meadows did.

As far as the starters, it's safe to assume that last year's crew will get the go this year. They were a solid group last year, and with one more year of weightlifting and practice under their belt, they should be an even more solid squad this year. Will Howie, Douglas, McAdams, Bates, or Eaton bloom this year and be able to grab some playtime away from the starting squad? Personally, I hope so, but ultimately I think we are going to have to wait and see. Again, a lot of that will depend on how Coughlin wants to use the guys.

Good post.

Looking ahead to Game #1. We should win the game easily. I hope C.C. feels free to substitute early and often or do a 'line change' (like they do in hockey).

Easiest way to get PT for the depth is have a 21 point lead going into the 4th quarter and also get PT for the backup QB.

(05-19-2021 04:59 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:43 PM)steve4840 Wrote:  I think we will be better defensively, but I wish we would have his the Juco ranks and got a couple pass rushers. I feel like we never get any rush on the QB and then we hear we are a "bend, don't break defense."

With an improved but likely defense that will struggle to stop the run I foresee our offense putting up insane numbers. I can see Preston to Cannon, Beydoun, Tanner, Dylan all day.

Running the ball I think we will be fine. We return a really good O-line (does anyone know if the MSU transfer is eligible?) and Boone and Evans are good.

As stated in the 2021 recruiting thread and this one the coaching staff has been looking at additional WRs (we just got a transfer) and defensive linemen. JUCOs graduate folks this month. I'm sure we will be adding some additional person in both these areas and maybe RB. Remember Mackay left so there's a spot open.

We got the RB from James Madison.
There were several one from Davidson And a,juco.

Athlon put out there preseason all MAC teams:
https://athlonsports.com/college-footbal...rence-team

First Team Defense:
CB Noski LaFleur, Eastern Michigan
Second Team Offense:
TE Bryson Cannon, Eastern Michigan
OL Sidy Sow, Eastern Michigan
Second Team Defense:
DL Turan Rush, Eastern Michigan
Second-Team Specialists
K Chad Ryland, Eastern Michigan
P Jake Julien, Eastern Michigan
Third-Team Offense
C Mike Van Hoeven, Eastern Michigan
Third-Team Defense
LB Terry Myrick, Eastern Michigan
Fourth-Team Offense
QB Preston Hutchinson, Eastern Michigan
WR Hassan Beydoun, Eastern Michigan
Fourth-Team Defense
CB Freddie McGee, Eastern Michigan

EMU is 5th in total selections with 11

(05-27-2021 08:56 AM)dansplaining Wrote:  Athlon put out there preseason all MAC teams:
https://athlonsports.com/college-footbal...rence-team

First Team Defense:
CB Noski LaFleur, Eastern Michigan
Second Team Offense:
TE Bryson Cannon, Eastern Michigan
OL Sidy Sow, Eastern Michigan
Second Team Defense:
DL Turan Rush, Eastern Michigan
Second-Team Specialists
K Chad Ryland, Eastern Michigan
P Jake Julien, Eastern Michigan
Third-Team Offense
C Mike Van Hoeven, Eastern Michigan
Third-Team Defense
LB Terry Myrick, Eastern Michigan
Fourth-Team Offense
QB Preston Hutchinson, Eastern Michigan
WR Hassan Beydoun, Eastern Michigan
Fourth-Team Defense
CB Freddie McGee, Eastern Michigan

EMU is 5th in total selections with 11

I think the Eagles are flying under the radar and are going to surprise a lot of these pundits by the time the season is over. Hutchinson alone is way underrated in this, as far as I am concerned.

And if someone is in the Transfer Portal, they should not be included.