|
Post by Crucis#1 on May 19, 2022 13:20:47 GMT -5
I'll take a stab at the last position group - Linebacker 1. 3 Studs returning in Dobbs, Anderson and Doran. All three make plays in quite a different style. Anderson can come off the edge and play in coverage - entered HC as a DB. Doran seems to be a downhill thumper type of LB and Dobbs goes sideline to sideline while also blitzing well. Hopefully they stay healthy as this trio will be a massively productive group. 2. I think you have very capable backups in Monte and Bolden. Again - very different styles. Bolden appears to be a Doran type and Monte more of a Dobbs type - undersized in the height department but makes plays. Hopefully Dickson will assert himself and become the 6th linebacker. 3. You have Leo and now Kane (per previous posts) in this group to provide depth and special teams play. 4. Incoming Boyer looks to be a steal per some reports. He was on his way to Navy before he hurt his knee and HC was able to pick him up in the first signing period. He had a bunch of accolades after his junior year in VA for hopefully he is 100% healthy and ready to contribute.
I don't have a ton of concerns with this group as the top 3 are exceptional and they have 2/3 very capable backups.
LB has to be a huge focus in the 2023 recruiting class IMO. 2/3 full ride type of players hopefully sign in December to replenish the cupboard as there Anderson and Doran are leaving. Time will tell on Dobbs.Leo? Kane? As in Leo Kane??? Let's sic the two of them on Joey Hassett. Revenge would be sweet. Was that 1976 at the Springfield Civic Center for the ECAC playoffs? I was sitting in the upper reaches behind the basket, with a view that was partially obscured so I did not see the entire incident.
|
|
|
Post by Ignutz on May 19, 2022 14:39:18 GMT -5
Leo? Kane? As in Leo Kane??? Let's sic the two of them on Joey Hassett. Revenge would be sweet. Was that 1976 at the Springfield Civic Center for the ECAC playoffs? I was sitting in the upper reaches behind the basket, with a view that was partially obscured so I did not see the entire incident. It was. Hassett had torched us for 30 a few weeks earlier in an 18-point Providence win, and Leo was shutting him down in this game. Away from the play, Hassett threw a vicious elbow to Leo's head, and Leo went down. No foul was called. I'm not sure Leo knew where he was, but he was done for the day. I don't recall how many Hassett had that day, but PC prevailed by three. We beat UMass in the consolation game, while PC beat UConn for the title. Each team went to the NIT where we lost to NC State in the second round, and PC lost to Kentucky in the semi-final (before losing to NC State in the consolation game). Hassett's shot to Leo's head may have been the worst cheap-shot I've ever witnessed. And again, no call.
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Jun 23, 2022 13:23:40 GMT -5
Like everyone else…I’m getting the itch for August (pre-season magazines and commentaries coming out don’t help tamper the excitement) so some additional thoughts on LB since I never got a chance to officially break it down. -We all know that Jacob Dobbs has already cemented his legacy as the best ILB to play at HC in the past 30 years and with another AA type season could possibly go down as the best Linebacker ever to play at HC. We all know his litany of strengths, both on the field and intangibles off/as a person. He’s a once in generation across the board talent for HC football. -Liam Anderson could possibly go down as the best OLB to play at HC in the past 30 years with another season like 2021. Not sure about his future plans, but with a big season he is possibly our top defensive NFL prospect given his size, speed and athleticism to do so many things that give offenses fits. -Liam Doran is hard nosed, tough kid that doesn’t have the speed or raw athletic talent as the former two but “reads the triangle (man on/near back/backside)” very well and gets his pads downhill fast. I do worry about his shoulders holding up another full season given how much he’s put them through.
Which leads me to my ONE question…if 1 of those 3 is not available…what do we do? In the Villanova game after Jake went down, Coach James opted to play the second half in our old 4-2 front with both Modak and Cedeno on the field at the same time at DT with Anderson and Doran at LB. Since we are so young and inexperienced at DT this season, my personal expectation is that we would stay in our base 3-3 front and Dante Bolden or Frankie Monte would replace whoever might be a no go. Bolden likely as the next man up and Monte as more of a passing down option as he doesn’t have the size of the others but runs very well. Dante got thrown in the fire against Fordham in the Spring 21 game (Anderson got hurt on the opening kick-off) and I saw enough in that one game to conclude he has the tools to contribute, just needed a couple years to develop physically.
We don’t have near the depth at LB that we have in many other position groups this season so staying healthy will be critical as we likely only have 5 guys that are ready to play (perhaps Phoenix Dickson as a run stopper or Matt Kane as the #6 and final on the two-deep as a passing down option being a converted Safety).
Cheers to watching this group again this year. They just need ONE of the DT/NG’s to step up enough to resemble anything close to Modak. This will enable them to do what they do best for another season and again be an absolute joy to watch.
|
|
|
Post by hchoops on Jun 23, 2022 14:11:06 GMT -5
I realize that 1963 was a long, long time ago. But when you say that Jake may be the best LB ever, I know little before 1963, but Jon Morris, an All American and a long time AFL-NFL regular. His main position was center, but in College he also played linebacker on defense. The strongest game I witnessed was when in 1963 he shadowed All East BC QB Jack Concannon into a poor showing and an HC upset win. I also would include the best LB from 1966 and 1967, Dick Giardi.
|
|
|
Post by rgs318 on Jun 23, 2022 14:17:26 GMT -5
I would have to agree on Dick Giardi and Jon Morris (though he had far fewer games at that position). It is always easy to call a current player the "best of all time" - especially when one may not have seen his/her predecessors. How about saying "among" the best ever at HC? IMHO, that could recognize special talent and put each in very elite company.
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Jun 23, 2022 14:36:54 GMT -5
I would have to agree on Dick Giardi and Jon Morris (though he had far fewer games at that position). It is always easy to call a current player the "best of all time" - especially when one may not have seen his/her predecessors. How about saying "among" the best ever at HC? IMHO, that could recognize special talent and put each in very elite company. I knew someone in this group was going to inevitably say something about the 1940’s-1960s and without going into a long diatribe about the differences and evolution of football since the 1960s versus today… rule differences, hardly any defensive stat keeping etc...How about I qualify since the FBS/FCS split circa ~1980… Hell, tackles for loss were not even kept as an official stat until 2000. And How about we use this thread for what it’s intended for…. not to debate personnel from 70 years ago but talk about the 2022 team and season.
|
|
|
Post by dharry13 on Jun 23, 2022 14:41:32 GMT -5
A lot of guys in the group. Craig Callahan, Rob Milanette, McGovern, etc
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Jun 23, 2022 14:55:52 GMT -5
A lot of guys in the group. Craig Callahan, Rob Milanette, McGovern, etc I think Jake is in that Top 4 mix right now as a “final four”. And as I stated, if he has another season like last year (without Modak and Cedeno) then he’s ARGUABLY at the top.
|
|
|
Post by dharry13 on Jun 23, 2022 14:59:53 GMT -5
Agreed.
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Jun 23, 2022 15:19:11 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by dharry13 on Jun 23, 2022 15:34:10 GMT -5
Agreed on all.
Flaherty, McGovern, Milanette, Callahan in top 6 in career tackles.
|
|
|
Post by hiltonheadcrusader on Jun 23, 2022 15:34:25 GMT -5
Agreed. Harry was a STAR......and shortly after him Jerry McCabe
|
|
|
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 23, 2022 15:37:20 GMT -5
Our Harry played in the USFL . His son Harry Jr played tight end at Princeton and for the Dallas Cowboys
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Jun 23, 2022 16:13:33 GMT -5
Our Harry played in the USFL . His son Harry Jr played tight end at Princeton and for the Dallas Cowboys I believe our Harry, MVP of our loaded (Fenerty, Kozerski, etc.) 1983 team, did play for the Cowboys as a replacement player…and in the USFL. Like I said, if Jake is on that level he’s pretty good.
|
|
|
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 23, 2022 16:31:49 GMT -5
Nice correction. Our Harry played 2 games for Dallas in 1987. I don’t know if Harry JR got into any games as sports reference just has him on the team
|
|
|
Post by sader1970 on Jun 23, 2022 17:56:13 GMT -5
One of my good buddies (introduced me to my wife; was my peer; then boss; then peer; then I was his boss . . . . really! ), though raised Catholic became a born again Christian and all that "fellowship" stuff. He had no connection with Holy Cross. While doing that fellowship stuff, he met and became somewhat close to Harry Flaherty. Harry played while I was out of touch with HC football in another part of the country and I really didn't know about him. So, my buddy, knowing my HC connection showed me a football card of Harry with the Cowboys and he autographed it for my buddy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Flaherty_%28linebacker%29
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Jun 23, 2022 18:51:53 GMT -5
Jon Morris was the 27th pick overall in the 1964 NFL draft and 29th overall in the AFL draft. He signed with the Patriots in the AFL and was All AFL his first six years. When the leagues merged he was All Pro in 1970. He ended up playing 15 years. Perhaps HC's most decorated pro.
Defensive end Bob Dee, a three sport letterman at Holy Cross was another member of the Patriots all 1960s team along with Morris.
|
|
|
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 23, 2022 19:00:31 GMT -5
I believe Bob Dee holds a pro football record for having two safeties in one game
|
|
|
Post by sader1970 on Jun 24, 2022 4:43:57 GMT -5
All nice Crusader football history, Jacob Dobbs plays now and is an outstanding linebacker. One of the best I’ve ever seen playing in a purple jersey. The exploits of these past players takes nothing away from what Jake has accomplished and will accomplish in the future.
|
|
|
Post by hc4life on Jun 24, 2022 7:01:05 GMT -5
Well said...very tough to compare Era's as so much changes from generation to generation. What generally separates great from elite is the TEAM success. The last 3 years have been amazing and based on my opinion and what I've been privy to, this year's team has the chance to be one of the best in school history. Being the leader(3 year Captain) of a 4 time League Champion would put Dobbs in rarified air so to speak.
|
|
|
Post by Xmassader on Jun 24, 2022 7:12:56 GMT -5
Jerry McCabe, one of the excellent LBs mentioned in this thread was, like Jacob Dobbs, a graduate of Warren (MI) DeLaSalle HS. The Pilots (nicknamed as such because the original school was located across the street from Detroit City Airport) were the 2021 Michigan Division 1 state champions. Perhaps in the next few years HC can land a recruit or two from DLS who will be as productive as McCabe and Dobbs.
|
|
|
Post by HC92 on Jun 24, 2022 7:22:14 GMT -5
Almost impossible to compare guys from different eras. For the present, I am thrilled to have Jacob Dobbs on our team just as I loved having the guys listed above on our teams since the early 80s when I started following HC football.
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Jun 24, 2022 7:35:58 GMT -5
Well said...very tough to compare Era's as so much changes from generation to generation. What generally separates great from elite is the TEAM success. The last 3 years have been amazing and based on my opinion and what I've been privy to, this year's team has the chance to be one of the best in school history. Being the leader(3 year Captain) of a 4 time League Champion would put Dobbs in rarified air so to speak. That is a very good point. If we can get again to the top of the FCS rankings and Jacob Dobbs is one of our best players we’ll have a better idea of how good he really is. At this point it’s pretty clear he’s our top player and one of the PL’s best. (TBH, PL is a very weak FCS conference but IMHO the very top of FCS has been a consistent high quality the last 40 years.)
|
|
|
Post by rgs318 on Jun 24, 2022 7:41:15 GMT -5
I agree. I am always surprised when someone wants to label a player the best of all time. I have to ask why? Comparisons have so many variables that all it does is eliminate those not the "best" without granting any more recognition to someone who is already seen as an elite athlete.
|
|
|
Post by sader1970 on Jun 24, 2022 7:48:57 GMT -5
I know I am in the minority here and might be seen as a “traitor” to my generation of Crusader fans and players but to steal from the “Six Million Dollar Man” (with inflation, just not that impressive anymore), the players today over my generation are “bigger, stronger, faster” . . . . . and IMHO, better.
Now, I am sure the retorts will include “but Sader, we were in the highest division in the 60s.” Uh-huh, playing Colgate, the Ivies, UConn, UMass. No Penn State anymore. You had Syracuse and BC. That’s it.
I would put our current team in a time machine and believe they would kick the butts of those Syracuse and BC teams. In part because our guys then were undersized to those big boys but our players today would not be. And they are not just bigger, they are a lot stronger than back then.
I mention Bill Moncevicz and he was a monster at 265 lbs. Our guys lift more than he did and outweigh him by 30, 40 pounds.
With all deference to the late, great Dick Giardi, I saw him play. He truly was a monster but Dobbs has that same mentality but is bigger and faster and as sure a tackler as Giardi was.
Just one man’s opinion. Discuss 😂
And, yes, I am mostly just stirring the pot.
|
|