Do we have some missing pieces?
It's not just the offensive line...
I'm talking about apparent shortages on the Columbia roster.
As I reported last week, the fact that there are just ten returning OL's right now, (and that's just what we know from the NON-UPDATED roster right now... the actual number may be smaller), is probably the biggest reason why a formal multi-squad scrimmage will NOT be played on April 20th. The spring "game" will probably be some kind of situational scrimmaging.
But the O-line isn't the only position where the Lions look thin, even when you include our known incoming freshmen class.
First up is fullback, where rising senior Andrew McHugh and rising sophomore Steven Silvio make up the entire corps. I'd throw in incoming frosh Mike Zunica into that mix as a MAYBE. I also hear reports that McHugh may be switching positions... so we could be back to just two.
Tight end is also a question. Rising junior Hamilton Garner may be the best returning TE in the league, but he is backed up by only fellow rising junior Zack McKown and rising soph Garrett DeMuth. Incoming frosh Nick Durham makes four TE's but if Columbia uses an H-back attack, that may not be enough in case of injuries.
Columbia's thinner numbers up front, (OL and TE), will be much discussed when the prognosticators predictably pick us for 7th or 8th in the league when those forecasts start trickling out in about three months. They'll probably not mention our fullback situation, but they will pose serious questions about our running backs.
The funny thing about the outside forecasters is that they often get all their facts wrong about CU and still pick our order of finish pretty accurately.
For example, no one said that coaching was the reason why they expected the Lions to finish 6th in the preseason polls last season... but they should have. The wheels were coming off the train and most of us saw that as soon as the summer began.
This time, I expect the "swamis" to give us a shot of positive energy because of new Head Coach Pete Mangurian's arrival and perhaps we'll get an extra vote of confidence because our excellent QB Sean Brackett looks to have a healthy senior season.
But don't expect anyone to pick us higher than 6th, and issues like the OL, the running backs, and the numerous -- but still unknown WR corps -- will be the big reasons why.
This time, I don't think I'll be able to argue with them.
Baseball Update
Coach Brett Boretti continues to rework what's expected of a Columbia sports team.
It was another nice win for the baseball team yesterday afternoon as the Lions edged Rutgers at Robertson Field.
A huge test comes this weekend when Columbia travels to Harvard and wounded Ivy baseball superpower Dartmouth.
9 comments:
Forget Dartmouth, the four current "superpowers" in Ivy League Baseball are all four of the Lou Gehrig Division Teams, namely, Columbia, Cornell, Penn and Princeton. They each have identical 3-1 records to start the season. In the other division, you have Brown at 2-2, Dartmouth and Harvard at 1-3 and Yale 0-4. Overall, Ivy League Baseball is much better than several years ago as even Cornell has improved dramatically.
Most of the Ivies are still showing their 2011 football rosters so it difficult to make comparisons. Penn has updated its roster and is showing 12 offensive linemen which is not much more than Columbia.
Have to agree on the talent level in Ivy baseball. Not sure how it happened but the pitching is good across the league. We have six quality D1 arms and some good looking frosh. All four Gehrig teams are strong but does anyone know what happened to Dartmouth?
Football situation seems bleak. Jake, not only are we thin on the OL but we lack depth and speed among the DBs. We're going to need freshman to contribute in the fall, especially with speed.
If Coach Mangurian learned as much from serving with Bill Bellichick as I hope he did, Coach Mangurian will be able to do well with what he has. A significant number of "role" players have flourished in New England and left to never be heard from again. As Coach Mangurian said in his blog, the best will play. It helps to have the players, but I feel the coaching staff will improve each and every player.
This can be a very negative group of bloggers including the author when it comes to this football team. I'm hoping the players don't read this. This is a tough situation for these boys and without any positive reinforcement I'm not sure what you expect. I hope they are getting a little from the coaches but the coaches are fueled by the intensity of winning from all of you and others.I know some of you are alumni and I'm hoping you can remember back to the days...there was school AND football. These boys have "continual" midterms at this university, as well as early AM practice/film daily and evening meetings/lifting. They have all new coaches,all new plays that they have received in the last 2-3 weeks as well as expectaions to know ALL this NOW. Despite all that they are eager to please these coaches. I think they deserve a little chance to prove themselves. I, of course, hope they do well this upcoming season. They are working their butts off to do well in the fall....and the coaches are working them hard to do well. Year one may not be perfect but it is proven that if you give positive reinforcement you will recieve better productivity. That encouragement/ positive reinforcement was not given last semester and the outcome was terrible. It took a senior to rise above all the adversity and write an inspirational letter to his teammmates before the last game and look what happened....they won. Obviosuly there were other issues but I am just trying to stress my point. When you read this blog it's almost as if it's an elated excitement to see who quits or gets cut. Ok well lets get the coaches 34 top prospects in here and see how they do on there own...see how they adjust to classes at Columbia, the Big Apple and early AM practices. I'm sure they are good players but there is a learning curve. The boys that are here now came to play football. Let's give them a chance and not push them out the door so fast. That's the message you are sending to these players who are working their a__es off daily. The coach gets a fresh start, let's give the players one too.
I disagree with the comment that the cupboard is bare. A healthy Brackett throwing to Garner and a breakout season from Connor Nelligan (who I am told by a few current players is a phenomenal talent), plus solid talent on the OL will keep us in a lot of games. My biggest issue is team speed. Gerst is probably our fastest RB, but he needs to play in space and to be healthy to contribute. On the defensive side I see a huge senior year from Josh Martin and a break out year from Childress. We are pretty deep at LB and safety. My question mark is speed at the CB position.
Another comment of depth at various positions .... if you look at the 2012 rosters (excluding incoming freshmen) for all Ivy teams you will find out that:
Columbia has the fewest OLs (10), DBs (11) and TEs (3)
Cornell and Harvard have the fewest RBs (6)
Yale has the fewest DLs (8)
Dartmouth has the fewest LBs (7)
Brown has the fewest WR's (5)
Havard has the most OLs (19)
Cornell has the most DLs (15)
Brown has the most DBs (19), TEs (8) and QBs (6)
Columbia has the most K/Ps (5)
Yale has the most LBs (18)
Penn has the most RBs (11)
Dartmouth has the most WRs (15)
I think Jake is objective and passionate about CU football and I don't see this blog as being negative.
The kids definitely need to be given positive reinforcement but they also need to be held accountable.
Every Ivy athlete is under the same pressure and expectations, we don't need to make excuses anymore. We need to start winning.
Jake is calling it as it is which is why I have subscribed...if you want baloney just read the Sports Info Office's distributions..
Post a Comment