Gameday Open Thread: JMU vs. New Hampshire
JMU and New Hampshire kickoff at 12:30 PM. Watch it on television on NBC Sportsnetwork. Discuss it here. Consider this your open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter. This is a big one. Win and the playoff dream is alive. DC/NoVA folks can join Todd at Dogwood Tavern. Keep rootin.
hey look, they threw a screen
great start D… great start.
Hey, another pooch punt from Birdsong [commence seizure].
If The Dukes don’t win today, should I even bother traveling back to Harrisonburg with the team?
WHERE IS DANIEL BROWN??? Anyone?? How do you not play him??
Its official. I’m going to walk-on as the new punter next season.
Wow….RB option pass…..
R.I.P Mickey Matthews
JMU Coach 1999-2013
“He rode the coattails of the National Championship until every thread was frayed and tattered.”
I think MM uses a magic 8 ball to call plays.
Reynolds is back in the lineup on defense….already gave up 2 passing TD’s. Just saying.
finally brown is in…..
we have 3 TOs how are we not using them????
but seriously is he TRYING to get fired?
Why are the two worst players on offense both captains?
Issues:
1 – Back to the rugby punt. Does no one on the coaching staff realize that arnone does not do that well. He punts pretty good in standard style….but rugby style very erratic.
2 – Wells SUCKS – why is he a captain? He is our worst offensive lineman.
3 – Back to to wide run game which requires better blocking, our oline cannot do that with any consistency.
4. Birdsong looks like the W&M game, indecisive and will not let go of the ball. Gives up too much ground when scrambling.
5 – Why is Taylor reynolds starting/playing. He is still awful and has not gotten any better since his last time on the field. He is never within 10 yards of a WR. Hell he is never even on the screen when they show the replay. Play anyone but him out there.
6 – Very little pressure on the UNH QB.
7 – Missing numerous tackles.
8 – Lucky to only be down by 14.
9 – Mr Hyde is in effect in Durham, NH.
10 – Please more Abdullah the Butcher – he is the ONLY effective RB.
Advice to staff:
1. Create your gameplan for the week.
2. Throw it in the trash can.
3. Make another one that was pretty much opposite of your first one.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
I guess we will find out today if halftime adjustments are possible.
Serious question – why is it our oline cannot block at all. Every team we have played is in our backfield.
JMU had to score either before the half or to begin this half……we suck! Come out of halftime still looking flat with no fire.
Glad to see DQS getting some watch time.
DSQ hurt??
his feelings??
Where is Scotty McGee when you need him?
if i were UNH everytime I drop back to pass i would throw at taylor reynolds. If he is on the field throw at him.
1. Pad level is too high.
2.They are coached in the NFL-style side-to-side position blocking rather than the traditional NCAA-style North-south blow the DL off the line style.
Shady- that is what they did the whole first half
i guess its only fair to put one back on them!!
Double Pass. +1 respect
there is a little creativity….I called that play as soon as DQS went in motion and went noticable backward while in motion.
well they better change that coaching up.
I know about reynolds in first half – surprised they did not continue with that out of the locker room. I would not even look at anyone else.
the UNH qb is not near as good when you actually blitz him and bring some HEAT
defense has changed style of play this half, to protect reynolds.
know the situation – nothing like a 2 yard pass to the TE in the flat on 3rd and 10.
you gotta be kidding me, our guys looked like bozos on that play not being able to sack the qb…..and right back at reynolds. Having reynolds out there is like playing with 10.25 guys on D
this just in bangura sucks too
now we have 10.5 people on D
It looks like our DB’s don’t even know what coverage they are supposed to be in.
LBs as well when we show blitz but then don’t fully…..basically taking away Robertson completely
where is Kweshon williams????
UNH gets confused with who to throw too with Reynolds and Bangura both on the field
On that big DQS run… Josh wells totally fanned on his block. #sawthat #eyeintheskydoesnotlie
to be fair to Reynolds he was a QB and switched positions
Reynolds defends a pass for the first time all season…..
….oh wait…he was holding. Flag.
got to hold them to 3
Well, I fault MM for recruiting a QB to play cornerback.
the good news is JMU isn’t the only team that can miss PATs
well a lot of time its recruiting athletes not positions
Why would you throw that!?
that is sad to get picked by a one handed player
Well…..that sums up the season. We threw a pick to a ONE-ARMED FRESHMAN.
Put Brandon Lee out wide. He’ll happily catch some of Birdsong’s passes.
Reminder- this 3rd and 17 was setup by a east-west DQS run for negative7 yards.
needed to get some positive N-S yards to help with 4th down FG attempt….ugh
Good work, shankopotomus.
Maybe Mike O’Cain can have the next two games as a job interview.
why doesn’t JMU ever have receivers that can make catches like that?
Maybe the NDSU coach will be interested in moving up to the CAA and eventually FBS
FIRE MICKEY MATTHEWS! Road game equals = flat. Falls on the Head Coach. I refuse to slam individual players at this point because it’s not fair when the coaches let you down. Our game plan was garbage and once again no adjustments at half. UNH play calling was legit. This sucks.
Matthews has got to go. This is awful. This program has been making the push to move up to FBS since I started as a freshman here back in 2007. Despite an outstanding ’08 season where Matthews clutched onto Rodney Landers to give him job security (and also managed to blow a top ranking in the semi-finals of the playoffs due to Landers being injured). Since then we’ve gone 17-15 in conference and only reached the playoffs in one of the seasons with a lucky bid on an 8-5 season. Now JMU is on the quick path to missing the playoffs yet again.
Unacceptable when how much money has been dumped into this program for a gorgeous new stadium? Add in the fact ODU added a football program in 2009 and have already surpassed JMU’s program… Sad. There’s very little excitement in the way JMU plays lately, this is a coaching issue, get him out of the Burg and let’s bring some excitement back to the Dukes!
Terrible tackling and our QB was picked off by a one armed freshman?!? Say goodbye to the playoffs..again.
Entire team is fired. Stephon missed a number of tackles, DBs played too far off and missed tackles and couldn’t get off blocks. OL couldn’t pick up a blitz to save their mother’s lives. Birdsong is inconsistent (at least Thorpe was ALWAYS a bad passer). DQS runs sideways like he did when he was a freshman. Prima Donnas across the board. They need some walk ons like the good ‘ol days that want to EARN their position on the team.
I did not enjoy the game.
I felt in my gut that the stars were aligned for a ‘Let Down’ game today. While JMU has some bad loses they did still control their own destiny before today if they could just show up and execute. Well, as we have all come to expect, MM does not like to ‘control his own destiny’. He prefers to play with his A** in a crack. And that is exactly where JMU is now. We are winless on the road this year, and I don’t think we buck that trend against Towson two weeks from now! As a matter of fact, Stony Brook does not have a good record but they have play almost everyone tough. I would not be at all surprised if knock JMU off next week.
And does JMU feel like they have an obligation to allow opposing QBs to have a career day against them. This happens far too often. I keep hearing people say that are Defense is pretty good. Well, I call BS on that! W&M shuts out UNH last week. We allow UNH 33 points this week! Offense is ineffective and Special Teams is a joke! Something is missing… A lot of somethings are missing. I think a lot of it is coaching and a lot of it is players that are not as talented as we/they think they are. Game planning and creativity is poor at best. Execution is inconsistent. JMU has got to do something different/go in another direction. Insanity = doing the same things over and over expecting different results.
Does anyone on this blog think Mickey Matthews deserves another shot next year? If so, please make your argument.
As a former player for Mickey, I can attest to the fact that his play calling is not actually his worst attribute. He is even more incompetent when it comes to utilizing his skilled players. I cannot believe they haven’t fired him yet, complete garbage! I wish the players the best of luck, they don’t deserve this clown as a coach!
@JMUdukes — you are certainly entitled to your opinion; however, please take your tired, backward and completely inappropriate remarks to a different forum. i spent 25 years in the service defending the constitutionally-guaranteed right to free speech and would do so again — it just sucks when the speaker’s remarks are repulsive and out of date.
Respectfully,
an old Caucasian male
i would additionally call on the administrator’s of this blog to suspend/revoke JMUdukes’ privilege to post here.
I just removed the comments Ken. We’re sorry that we didn’t catch them sooner and we don’t tolerate that sort of ignorant nonsense.
thank you, Rob; this is a really good blog that I enjoy reading. Just sorry it was a disappointing weekend on football, men’s b-ball and w-soccer fronts.
glad to see the women beat the ‘hoos.
had planned to go up to niu this weekend for some hoops action (only about a 5 hour drive), but will be taking my 10th grader to a daddy-daughter dance on saturday.
I’m probably the biggest Mickey apologist on this blog but even I am growing weary of the Dukes inability to get up for big games. How else do you explain this game and the W&M game? Or the VT win for God’s sake. We win at VT then go something like 6-5? I won’t call for Mickey’s job but I don’t think I would complain too loudly if he was let go. I’m available and would take half of what Mickey is making!
I agree with Cory in that I really don’t get into calling for Mickey Matthews to br fired even though I have never been a big fan. He was almost let go before they made their championship run. Just seems as if the football program has gotten a little stale with mostly 6-5 seasons and if you discount the two wins at the beginning of each season against lower level competition, we have not done all that well for awhile. Maybe it is just time to make a change if the athletic dept. can afford to do so. Not sure how much longer his contract runs. But with a big stadium to fill and interest seeming to be on the wane just a bit, we might need a little shot in the arm a new coach and different type of p,ayers might bring. Whatever they do, I will still be rooting them on and will be there this weekend for the final home game.
Mickey and the coaching staff behind him have no ethics. How do you explain them cutting so many rising seniors over the years? Scott Noble, Jordan Anderson, Renard Robinson, Justin Thorpe? How do you expect to build a strong team without senior leadership? Yes there are still seniors on the team but its demoralizing to them when they see their friends cut after years of hard work. It makes them not want to play for them. I know first hand because I was a former player in 2010. The majority of the kids on that team hate Mickey Matthews and the program he runs.
Rob – greatly appreciate this blog. Reading this thread is very thought provoking. The discussion here surpasses that other forum…
I don’t think that any of us are happy with the current direction. Will the admin pay MM’s last year and send him on his way? Doubt it. I really feel for this group of kids. I feel they are starving for some solid leadership. I hope they get it.
I’m curious why so many “former” players follow this post but use made up names, etc to comment. Its not like Mickey’s is tied to the mob and will hunt you down or something. Then again maybe if he was he could fix a few of these games he keeps throwing away.
Cory-
Mainly because we don’t want anyone to think we are speaking on behalf the teams we were on.
Also, it prevents people from changing the subject and attacking you personally such as “Oh yeah….remember when you lost that fumble and cost us the game? YOU’RE ONE TO TALK” or “You suck…you didn’t even play” or having the DNR report the following headline: “Former JMU Star Charles Haley: ‘Mickey Sucks and should be fired’ ”
Surely that is simple to understand.
Jamal Anderson was pushed off of this team. He is setting records at Virginia State. Yeah – it’s DII but it’s impressive none the less. We were sold on the idea that football was a lower priority for him. Clearly not the case. He is averaging 114 yards a game and has 20 TDs. For the first time VA State is in the top 25. They play for the conference championship Saturday with a playoff spot on the line. Oh yeah, the QB is Justin Thorpe how is averaging over 60% completions and is second to Anderson in rushing yards.
I think that would be Jordan Anderson, and I was a fan of his while he was at JMU and was sad to see him go. I’m glad he is lighting it up at VA State against their lesser opponents. But the fact that you state how Justin Thorpe is doing so well means nothing to me than emphasizes that this is an apples to oranges comparison. Thorpe was simply not very good at the FCS level. I also read an article about VA State this week from the Hopewell News Patriot where they say that “Thorpe’s on-field leadership is paramount”. Anybody who painfully watched Thorpe for the 6-8 years (it seemed like) he played at JMU would find this quote laughable.
I too did not like how the enire Jordan Anderson dismissal/leaving the team went down. Seemed like there was a whole lot more to that story than was ever made public.
You should have stopped there b/c the mere mention of JT renders the whole comment meaningless as he never better than mediocre at a ‘higher’ level and had to play down in order to find success.
2004Duke – If you can’t stand behind your words then posting on this blog (or any other) is pointless. I don’t believe anyone on the 1995 to 1999 teams think I speak for them. And I think you assume too much if you think the DNR or other media is looking for Charles Haley or the like to post their honest opinions anonymously here..surely your JMU education taught you that.
Cory-
You obviously were never interviewed by the sports media.
You must have brain trauma. Being interviewed by the sports media after a practice, game or on media day is nothing like posting a blog AFTER you are off the team. Despite what you think 2004 Duke you aren’t important to the team or media covering the team anymore. Oh and to answer your statement, I was interviewed on a number of occasions. I actually have the article still and would gladly share it with everyone. As I am not afraid to stand behind my beliefs like you are. Perhaps that is because I played for the team and still support them rather than anonymously bashing them at every turn like you do.