Delaware Blue Hens: JMUSB 2011 CAA Preview #1

This is the first post in our 2011 CAA football preview series. In case you missed it last year, it’s pretty simple. We’ll profile each CAA team one by one, culminating in our official preview for the 2011 JMU Dukes in August. While nobody is going to mistake this series for hard-core analysis, it should provide you with enough CAA smarts to help you at least fake you way through your average JMU tailgate. And it will help us get the blogging kinks out before football season. Now without further ado, your 2011 JMUSB Preview of the Delaware Blue Hens.

19-0

That was the score that Delaware led Eastern Washington by when they punted the ball away with only 3:18 left in the third quarter of last season’s National Championship. Then the much vaunted Blue Hen defense rolled over, the offense sputtered, and Easter Washington rattled off 22 unanswered points to win the game. While such an epic collapse made Delaware haters like me incredibly happy, it’s safe to say that it was less than joyous for the UD players, coaches, and fans. We don’t know if the Blue Hens will use that disappointment as motivation to succeed in 2011, or if it will send them into some downward spiral that takes years to recover from (fingers crossed).

What They Lose

The obvious loss for the Blue Hens is quarterback Pat Devlin. The transfer from Penn State was the 2010 CAA Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 22 TDs with only 3 picks last year and led the team all the way to the Championship game. In addition to Devlin, Delaware will also be replacing 2 wide-receivers and one member of the line on offense. They have many more slots to fill on the defensive side of the ball with the loss of 8 starters. Whoever steps into the secondary for Delaware will have some big shoes to fill. Safeties Anthony Bratton (All CAA First Team) and Darryl Jones (All CAA Third Team) and a pair of All CAA Second Team cornerbacks Tyrone Grant and Anthony Walters, all are gone.

What They Bring Back

The Blue Hens bring back four offensive lineman and Anthony Pierce, one hell of a running back. That should make things considerably easier for whomever wins the starting QB job. Delaware’s experienced line should be able to keep the QB off is back and give him time to make plays.  Pierce was only a freshman last year, but he earned All CAA First Team honors. Fans can argue all day about whether Pierce or William & Mary’s Jonathan Grimes is the CAA’s best running back, but the fact is that they’re both pretty damn good. The Blue Hens only bring back 3 starters on Defense, but they’ve got a pair of linebackers ready to carry the squad. Junior Paul Worrilow made All CAA Third Team last year and led the team with 113 tackles and Senior Andrew Harrison will start at linebacker for the fourth year.

The Delaware Football Tradition

Delaware fans like to act as if they are the crown jewel of FCS football. They talk about the Blue Hens 6 national championships, former coach Tubby Raymond, and their outstanding fan support. While the rhetoric is extremely annoying, it’s also hard to refute their claims. Delaware really has had an outstanding program and tremendous fan support for years. They consistently draw over 20,000 fans a game and are always near the top of FCS attendance. Sure, everyone knocks the geriatric nature of the fanbase, but those old people consistently pack the stadium. The gap in fan support between Delaware and the rest of the CAA has closed considerably though. Several other CAA teams now have fanbases with as much passion as the Blue Hen faithful.  And Delaware might have already been passed when it comes to facilities. For instance, Delaware’s own media guide actually refers to the stadium as “state of the art” and then brags about the fact that they added lights in 2000 in the same paragraph.

K.C. Keeler Whines a Lot

I wish I had a more clever way to make this point, but I don’t. The fact is that Delaware’s head coach whines and complains incessantly and it’s annoying as hell. Go back and read about the way he went on and on moaning about DJ Bryant’s hit that knocked Pat Devlin out of the JMU vs UD game last October. It was awful. The only thing that was worse was the way that Delaware fans held him up as some sort of representative for all that is honorable about the game of football, while labeling Matthews and the Dukes a bunch of thugs. And these were the very same fans who thought Keeler was nothing but excuses heading into last season.

Random Fact About Delaware Football

When Delaware sells out home games, the stadium population becomes the fourth largest city in the state. I’m not sure if that tells us more about the popularity of Delaware football or the fact that nobody wants to live in cities in Delaware.

JMUSB Prediction

Delaware has a lot of big shoes to fill from last year’s National Runner-Up team, but their schedule is favorable. After opening at Navy, the Blue Hens have 2 absolute gimmes at home and host ODU for the Monarch’s first ever CAA conference game, before heading up to Maine for their first CAA road game. They also get William & Mary and Richmond at home. I think the rushing attack alone will carry them to a few victories and the defense will improve throughout the season. As much as I hate to admit it, I expect them to be in the mix for the CAA title.