FOOTBALL: Bulldog offense shut down again
Penn blanks Blue
PHILADELPHIA — Defense may win ball games, but when the two toughest defenses in the Ivy League faced each other Saturday, the Bulldogs found they needed some semblance of an offense too.
The Yale offense was unable to score any points for the second consecutive game, and kicker Tom Mante ’10 missed three field goals, as the Bulldogs (3–3, 1–2 Ivy) wasted another strong defensive effort in their 9–0 loss at Penn (4–2, 3–0) on Saturday.
It was the first time the Bulldogs have been shutout since last year’s 1 — 0 loss against Harvard in The Game.
Like Yale’s 9 – 7 loss to the...
Roll the guillotine back into storeage for a bit, '98. Show Mr. Williams a year of mercy, since the unfortunate truth is that his current minions are all holdovers from the ancien régime.
If there is no improvement next year, others may come around to your point of view.
Oh, so it's Bush's fault.
I agree with Old Blue, and I'd even give Williams two years to form his own team... but I'd really, really like to beat Harvard before I graduate.
Hold overs from the Siedlecki teams that went 23-7 over his last 3 years.
The cupboard is not bare.
'98:
You are clueless.
Hart and Witt are both very talented players stuck behind a young offensive line.
With protection, they are All-Ivy.
I agree with Old Blue - at least to this extent: Williams should be retained … as long as he beats Harvard. He recognized this imperative at his initial press conference.
'07:
Ok, watch this young offensive line come through against Columbia and Princeton, while falling apart against Brown and Harvard. Happy, now? "Yale facts" is right on the money.
Obviously, its too soon to think about replacing the coach, but his excuses are a little hard to tolerate. I find this comment particularly difficult to swallow -
"We just didn’t make the plays in the kicking game that I thought we could have made that would have changed the complexion of the football game."
Yeah, the whole game turned on a missed 54 yard field goal. Hey, Tom, its the Ivy League. You should be thanking your lucky stars you have a kicker who's capable of even attempting FGs that long instead of blaming the loss on him.
COME ON THE CUPBOARD WAS BARE.WHY DO YOU THINK JACK LEFT.YALE WOULD BE 1-5 instead of 3-3. SPOILED BRATS.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING GOOD.
#9: While I mainly agree with what you said, I don't think he was referring to the 54-yd miss. he was probably talking about the 28-yd miss with 10 mins left. That would have made it a one possession game.
I don't think he meant that. I think he meant, had Mante made all three FGs (and the last two, he really should have made...the first one WAS difficult, though he DID make a 54-yarder this season — just saying Mante IS capable), then Yale would have tied Penn by the end of the game at least. I don't think making a one possession game would have made any difference, seeing our offense just couldn't get the ball into the end zone.
OMG - Now we have to parse the verbiage of our football illiterate. At his next post-game press conference, we should hire an amanuensis. How far have we fallen?
Sad to say, we could easily end up 5-5. Princeton's brutal (win), Harvard's tough (sorry, loss). We should beat Columbia. The Brown game, as always, will be tough, close, and intense. Maybe we can bluff our way to 6-4 like last year. But it's really hard to see us winning out for 7-3.
On the upside, with both QB's back in 2010 behind a better line, plus Smith and Christodolou running wild, we could be really good -- IF that nation-leading defense can continue dominating sans Abare and Rice next year.
No running game this year! Lets face the facts, Tom Williams did not recruit these halfbacks! No ground attack no Ivy league title. Dont Blame Hart. Smith led all receivrs in catches and yards , never would want to trade him.
For the most part I share your view of what may occur this year. 5-5 is the most likely outcome.
As for next year, I'm not sure I see the same rosy scenario. Frankly, I'm not sure either of these QB's will ever lead us to a title.
The unknown is whether Williams, with his first recruiting class, will be able to lasso some studs - and hopefully more studs than Harvard or Penn are herding into their own corrals.
Billy C: I love Smith (especially in the classroom), but Marsh is the best freshman in the league. How can you compare Bethel Park,Pa vs Midlothian, Va? He could play in many big Div 1A programs.
Anyway, looking forward to the trip down to the tip of Manhattan. I promise not to knock Williams. This week, he won't be the worst coach on the sidelines.
Class of 98, We think a lot alike. Marsh may be the leagues best Freshman! However Chris Smith could also play in many top programs. Hey 98 could you give me an update on chris Smiths fourth quarter injury.
No word yet. Williams didn't mention his injury at yesterday's teleconference, nor was he asked (these types of questions may be termed off-limits.) He did, however, say that Chris has done a great job in all aspects of the game, especially since Gio's injury.
Hope we get a nice turnout this Saturday. We will (probably) never play against a QB named Millicent again.
I certainly see/hear all the buzz surrounding freshman Smith's condition and rightfully so. He's led in total offense for 3 or 4 wks in a row. His kick returns have been amazing for a 1st year. If he goes down it's going to have impact
WHOSE THE QB THIS TIME? Probably Witt,Missed the press conferene at the Bookstore.Could it be possible that we draw 35 to 40 thousand for the BROWN home game? It would be nice for a change.
Average home attendance for top Ivies in 2008:
Harvard: 17,360
Penn: 11,284
Yale: 11,071
Princeton: 9,384
(Note: since both Harvard and Yale draw half or more of their season's total in their annual faceoff, Harvard or Yale tends to lead depending on which school has the Y-H game at home. We are the host team this year, so our per-game average should show a big jump over 2008)
Looking foward to seeinng this weeks game at Columbia! Finally took the trip to see historic Franklin field. What a beautiful stadium. Can anyone clue me in on the new stadium at Columbia? Isnt it next to legendary Bakers Field? Havent heard fom 98 in a while. Hope a lot of Bulldog fans will make the trip down to manhattan. See you there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_A._Wien_Stadium
Just watch out for the seagulls, arriving in mid-afternoon.
A horrendous performance. Williams is Beckett's blunder. It's painful to read his excuses week after week.
Anybody out there still disagree with me that we should trade our three best players for Marsh?
Seriously, the coach is witless and the team is heartless.
We'd be better off being Witt-less and Hart-less.