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Post by sader1970 on Sept 4, 2022 5:46:51 GMT -5
Having been there, along with 92 and 45, I think we can all attest to the large crowd that was indeed likely the stated 8,000+ fans, double the stadium seating. Take a look at this video in the stands and as importantly, standees around the stadium. The place was jammed.
Merrimack indeed as a HUGE contingent of cheerleaders and dancers and an student body almost 100% wearing something Merrimack-ese. Let's just say the PA announcer was "enthusiastic."
As for the game, officiating was spotty but likely their first game of the season as it was for the players. Assante's TD catch was definitely a late hit 2 yards out of the end zone. We had way too many penalties of the not-very-intelligent kind and 92 is right, we can't wait until we play a better opponent and it'll be a difference maker before we put a stop to them.
We were fortunate that their UConn transfer on a couple of occasions did what he did against us last year, overthrow some wide open receivers.
We played well enough to win, sometimes too closely, but we need to play better against Buffalo - a lot better. We are capable of that.
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Post by football44 on Sept 4, 2022 6:07:36 GMT -5
Love these kids! We all should be so proud of these young men. In comparison to what I see in other programs, not even close.
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Post by rgs318 on Sept 4, 2022 6:25:46 GMT -5
With the score 21-10, we got called for 3 personal fouls in a 7 play span. That has to be some sort of record. I love Chesney but this happens too often with his team and is something we’ll continue to struggle with unless we decide to change it. Other teams watch film on us looking for weakness. The most obvious one they’ll see is that, if they get under our skin, we’ll take stupid penalties. I don't know our actual penalty numbers over our Chesney years, but I thought I heard the announcers say that HC was known to give up few penalty yards. Some of the penalties could have been killers, but does anyone know what HC's record is regarding penalty yards (or where that might be listed)? We had 110 yards in penalties. With only 1 game, that is this year's team average so far. Here are HC's past years and these seem to be pretty low (but I can't find a list of FCS teams for comparison). 2021 = 59.6 yds per game 2020 = 54 yds per game 2019 = 47.3 yds per game 2018 = 25.3 yds per game I don't know where this puts HC vs other FCS teams, but it seems the announcers were right. HC typically give top few penalty yards and this was an anomaly. I would not be surprised to see penalty yards MUCH lower vs Buffalo.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Sept 4, 2022 6:35:41 GMT -5
With the score 21-10, we got called for 3 personal fouls in a 7 play span. That has to be some sort of record. I love Chesney but this happens too often with his team and is something we’ll continue to struggle with unless we decide to change it. Other teams watch film on us looking for weakness. The most obvious one they’ll see is that, if they get under our skin, we’ll take stupid penalties. I don't kn oe our actual penalty numbers over our Chesney years, but I thought I heard the announcers say that HC was known to give up few penalty yards. Some of the penalties could have been killers, but does anyone know what HC's record is regarding penalty yards (or where that might be listed)? Most yards penalized in a game in program history was against Norhteastern in 1988 (144 yards). We won that game 52-30. Under Chesney, most penalty yards came against Bucknell last year (120 yards). We won 45-6.
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Post by HC92 on Sept 4, 2022 7:49:21 GMT -5
I recall looking this up and think we were generally middle of the pack overall. However, there have definitely been other games before Friday where we let other teams get to us and took several stupid 15 yard penalties. Guessing there is not a way to isolate the personal fouls without looking at the play by play of every game.
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Post by sader1970 on Sept 4, 2022 8:03:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't think we've been either bad or great on penalties in the past. I have watched about half of the tape of the game: necfrontrow.com/game/9712I didn't notice the opening kick-off mocking of the faux onside kick and the pointing/taunting even before the kick while at the game but it's clearly there on the tape. And, as previously posted, the Assante late hit post TD catch was egregious non-call. I don't blame the refs as this was likely their first game of the season. Let's just say they weren't NFL-quality officials. We have a particularly disciplined team generally speaking because I don't recall any/many offsides/illegal procedure - maybe 1 or possibly two - which is really pretty good for a first game and likely due to our experience. Almost all were late hit calls and things of that nature. This can and should be addressed. All that said, it is unlikely that Buffalo will be taunting our guys. No history for either side to get worked up about. Admittedly, I missed a lot of stuff while in person because we picked lousy seats (well, me) and I did my usual aisle seat and had to get up to let 4 young kids out at least 5-6 times as they went for snacks or bathroom breaks or whatever 7-11 year old kids do at games besides watching. The other adults got a kick out of watching me and we all sort of bonded over these young kids. One of my Classmates suggested they might have been 92's kids but I know they weren't. His kids are older.
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Post by timholycross on Sept 4, 2022 8:24:25 GMT -5
Watching UMass at Tulane...TheTulane D-back makes a tackle in the UMass bench. Jumps up and does a shimmy shimmy with a head shake facing the UMass players....NO FLAG FOR TAUNTING... I guess the rule guys didn't make it to N'Oleans... Not only is Umass still bad, apparently, but they're also pretty boring. 11 pass attempts? Believe it or not, 3 out ot the 11 were picked off!
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Post by football44 on Sept 4, 2022 8:41:16 GMT -5
I don't kn oe our actual penalty numbers over our Chesney years, but I thought I heard the announcers say that HC was known to give up few penalty yards. Some of the penalties could have been killers, but does anyone know what HC's record is regarding penalty yards (or where that might be listed)? Most yards penalized in a game in program history was against Norhteastern in 1988 (144 yards). We won that game 52-30. Under Chesney, most penalty yards came against Bucknell last year (120 yards). We won 45-6. I can see those penalties against Northeastern. They were always cheap shot artist and talked a lot of s—-. Similar to Merrimack. A team full of portal transferees taking cheap shots and running their mouths. I know it’s tough but our guys need to be a little more discipline. I know it’s easier said then done.
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Post by DiMarz on Sept 4, 2022 8:48:43 GMT -5
Watching UMass at Tulane...TheTulane D-back makes a tackle in the UMass bench. Jumps up and does a shimmy shimmy with a head shake facing the UMass players....NO FLAG FOR TAUNTING... I guess the rule guys didn't make it to N'Oleans... Not only is Umass still bad, apparently, but they're also pretty boring. 11 pass attempts? Believe it or not, 3 out ot the 11 were picked off! UMass coach Brown is trying to get some control of the clock and shorten games..He knows he doesn't have a lot of weapons...Tulane was much faster than UMass, very evident on almost every play on both sides of the ball..
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Post by hchoops on Sept 4, 2022 10:45:02 GMT -5
Sader1970, I do not accept your excuse for the poor officiating that it was their first game. Judging by the looks of the referee, it certainly was not the first game of his career. Egregious errors cannot be excused
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Post by timholycross on Sept 4, 2022 10:52:01 GMT -5
The end result is the same, bad; but if the crew has a couple weak links in it, it drags all 7 of those gentlemen down. No telling who is messing who up.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Sept 4, 2022 11:16:52 GMT -5
With the Asante touchdown, its almost like the ref gave up on the play once he confirmed possession....I mean, the kid practically ended up on the track.
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Post by lou on Sept 4, 2022 11:27:07 GMT -5
With the Asante touchdown, its almost like the ref gave up on the play once he confirmed possession....I mean, the kid practically ended up on the track. Impossible to have missed that play. Asante took a couple of steps after the catch and then got tackled, right in front of the ref
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Post by sader1970 on Sept 4, 2022 11:38:29 GMT -5
Hey, it's Sunday and I am in a Christian frame of mind! Just finished watching the game on replay and especially interested in the penalty against my boy Eric Schon. Watched it twice and it appeared he was following through with his block in a bit of a scrum near/on the sideline. The "unsportsman like" must have been something he said to the player he flattened because it sure didn't look like anything that'd qualify as a penalty. hoops, ask me tomorrow. on Monday, and I might agree with you.
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Post by longsuffering on Sept 4, 2022 11:52:07 GMT -5
With the score 21-10, we got called for 3 personal fouls in a 7 play span. That has to be some sort of record. I love Chesney but this happens too often with his team and is something we’ll continue to struggle with unless we decide to change it. Other teams watch film on us looking for weakness. The most obvious one they’ll see is that, if they get under our skin, we’ll take stupid penalties. I don't know our actual penalty numbers over our Chesney years, but I thought I heard the announcers say that HC was known to give up few penalty yards. Some of the penalties could have been killers, but does anyone know what HC's record is regarding penalty yards (or where that might be listed)? We had 110 yards in penalties. With only 1 game, that is this year's team average so far. Here are HC's past years and these seem to be pretty low (but I can't find a list of FCS teams for comparison). 2021 = 59.6 yds per game 2020 = 54 yds per game 2019 = 47.3 yds per game 2018 = 25.3 yds per game I don't know where this puts HC vs other FCS teams, but it seems the announcers were right. HC typically give top few penalty yards and this was an anomaly. I would not be surprised to see penalty yards MUCH lower vs Buffalo. The trend is not our friend.
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Post by sader1970 on Sept 4, 2022 11:53:02 GMT -5
Oh, and just for grins and giggles, the box score on the HC website says that the attendance was 0, nil, goose egg!
Thought I was there and a bunch of Classmates, a few Crossporters, about 1,000 Merrimack cheerleaders, dance team and band. Must've been dreaming.
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Post by hc87 on Sept 4, 2022 11:57:02 GMT -5
Yeah...I think there was a lot of emotion on both sides Friday for varying reasons. I haven't really noticed any egregious swaggahh with the Chesney teams...as in cheap shots, getting overly mouthy etc...I'm sure we'll be fine moving forward in that department.
That Northeastern '88 game was VERY chippy....remembah that game as I had a childhood friend, Matt Lanagan, playing in the secondary for NU. Not sure what precipitated it....I guess, like now, we were marked men as one of the premier FCS programs in the area.
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Post by Ignutz on Sept 4, 2022 12:02:00 GMT -5
With the Asante touchdown, its almost like the ref gave up on the play once he confirmed possession....I mean, the kid practically ended up on the track. I’d like to see a replay of the Unsportsmanlike call on our defender on the pass play to the goal line. From my vantage point, the HC defender did nothing more than motion to the fans standing outside the “stadium” a (somewhat standard these days) he’s-not-completing-that-against-me. Neither of the nearby downfield officials were compelled to toss the hankie, but rather the official in the offensive backfield made the call - from about FIFTY yards away.
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Post by longsuffering on Sept 4, 2022 12:02:02 GMT -5
I hope HC student spirit is similar to Merrimack's at our home games. The players and coaches deserve it. They are definitely not mailing it in. I think this type of culture has to be prodded and encouraged in a college community and in HC's case perhaps rebuilt. I think PVR understands this and is leading by example to the extent he can.
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Post by rgs318 on Sept 4, 2022 12:05:08 GMT -5
I don't know our actual penalty numbers over our Chesney years, but I thought I heard the announcers say that HC was known to give up few penalty yards. Some of the penalties could have been killers, but does anyone know what HC's record is regarding penalty yards (or where that might be listed)? We had 110 yards in penalties. With only 1 game, that is this year's team average so far. Here are HC's past years and these seem to be pretty low (but I can't find a list of FCS teams for comparison). 2021 = 59.6 yds per game 2020 = 54 yds per game 2019 = 47.3 yds per game 2018 = 25.3 yds per game I don't know where this puts HC vs other FCS teams, but it seems the announcers were right. HC typically give top few penalty yards and this was an anomaly. I would not be surprised to see penalty yards MUCH lower vs Buffalo. The trend is not our friend. I also noticed that, but under 60 penalty yards/game is one of the better averages in the FCS (over a full season).
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Sept 4, 2022 12:12:23 GMT -5
2018 average penalty yards per game was 50.
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Post by dadominate on Sept 4, 2022 12:13:38 GMT -5
i saw the play on the live broadcast, but cannot recall who made the incredible pick ripping a touchdown out of the hands of the merrimack receiver? absolutely incredible focus and the play of the game, imo.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Sept 4, 2022 12:24:09 GMT -5
This is where we have ranked under Chesney in penalty yards per game --
2021: 91 Not counting corona year 2019: 40 2018: 33
Let's hope that we get back to sub 50 penalty yards per game.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Sept 4, 2022 13:16:23 GMT -5
With the Asante touchdown, its almost like the ref gave up on the play once he confirmed possession....I mean, the kid practically ended up on the track. Impossible to have missed that play. Asante took a couple of steps after the catch and then got tackled, right in front of the ref All these posts about the officials are comical. Here is a good angle of the Asante play: The defender was on Asante’s heels and appeared to be trying to reach around with his left arm to knock the ball free (as far as I understand the rules, if he was successful in doing so, the call could have been incomplete because Asante didn’t “complete the catch” through the ground), then the defender lost his balance and dragged Asante down with him. Only other option for the defender was to immediately stop after running at full speed. As a point of comparison, here’s a play that ended with Dobbs body slamming a Merrimack player. It was either conveniently cut out from the video or long enough after the play that they didn’t need to keep running the video. You can start to see it happening at the end of the video. I ask, which was an easier play for the tackler to avoid: the Merrimack player coming to an immediate stop from full speed, or Dobbs not body slamming the Merrimack player?
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Sept 4, 2022 13:32:34 GMT -5
BBC has the right take on Asante. What if the ball had come loose when the defender tackled him?
I still think it would have been ruled a touchdown, but the officials likely would have reviewed it (and, given some questionable calls they had made, then who knows how they would have ruled this).
And Dobbs certainly didn't need to drag that Merrimack player to the ground with him.
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