2018 Season

[DearOleUMass]

Except that maybe it's not as simple as you're assuming it should be. I would imagine there are reasons.

Who knows what the real reason is but just for the sake of giving us something to talk about...any chance it could have something to do with donors for the IPF wanting certain stipulations in Whipple's contract?

You mean like a donor who's partial to Whip would only donate if they keep Whip around for X years and Y price? Could be. Wasn't John Kennedy partial to Kellogg?

Either direction you want to take it...someone who is partial to whip...someone who is partial to letting Whipple go if he doesn't meet a minimum win threshold.

[McKinney]

^ Possibly, but it'd need to be a big donor to have that kind of influence over the department. If the department isn't comfortable with Whip at the helm they'd need to weigh the cost he imposes on the program against how much the donor is contributing and how much value the IPF adds to the program.

And vice versa, if the department is comfortable with Whip at the helm they'd need to weigh the value he adds to the program against how much not receiving funds from the donor will cost the cost of being at a competitive disadvantage without an IPF.

My personal thoughts (not based on any empirical evidence, just my outside opinion) are that keeping Whip for any more than, oh idk 2 or 3 years is not worth an IPF. I like him for the stability he's added to the program, but I don't think holding Bamford's managerial rights hostage is worth an IPF. But I would be on board with firing Whip if they aren't bowl eligible this year, and would gladly accept a donation to do it.

[69MG]

I go to football games but I'm far from an expert at judging talent, especially in the trenches. Matt V. has an article about the O line and in a tweet he listed their height and weights. The size and experience level seem impressive to me. I'd like an opinion from anyone who follows the FB team more closely than I as to how good the O line really might be. I have always felt that the O line is the biggest factor in the ultimate success or failure of the offense.

[McKinney]

Bill Connelly doesn't have an overall rank for offensive lines, so here's my methodology:
Each of these statistics are normalized, averaged by two categories (run and pass), and then each category is weighted by the team's pass/run ratio.

Here are the stats that Connelly uses:
Run Metrics:
Adjusted Line Yards: One of only two opponent-adjusted numbers on the page, this aligns with the ALY figure FO tracks for the NFL and is presented on a scale in which 100.0 is perfectly average, above 100 is good, below 100 is bad.
Standard Downs Line Yards per Carry: The raw, unadjusted per-carry line yardage for a team on standard downs (first down, second-and-7 or fewer, third-and-4 or fewer, fourth-and-4 or fewer).
Passing Downs Line Yards per Carry: The same unadjusted averages for rushing on passing downs.
Opportunity Rate: The percentage of carries (when five yards are available) that gain at least five yards, i.e. the percentage of carries in which the line does its job, so to speak.
Power Success Rate: This is the same as on the pro side -- percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown.
Stuff Rate: Same as STUFFED on the pro side -- percentage of carries by running backs that are stopped at or before the line of scrimmage.

Pass Metrics:
Adjusted Sack Rate: An opponent-adjusted version of a team's sack rate -- sacks divided by (sacks plus passes), presented on a scale in which 100 is perfectly average, above 100 is good, below 100 is bad.
Standard Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for standard downs pass attempts.
Passing Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for passing downs pass attempts.

So using my overall rank (which may not be accurate as each metric in a category has the same weight) UMass had the #125 OLine in 2017. This is a drop from their 2016 rank of #121. Looking at the prior four seasons and ranking using the average of their normalized exponential moving average and the normalized first derivative of their exponential moving average (this rates teams that are highly ranked, growing, and have limited variability in growth higher), UMass is ranked #125. So barring a miracle I don't think our OLine is going to be good, especially because we did not make a coaching change.

[mdogt12]

FBSchedules.com Retweeted
@lsufootballnet
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UMass spring game to stream on Facebook: http://www.umassathletics.com/news/2018 ... h=football … 4/13 at 6 ET

https://www.facebook.com/UMassAthletics ... 866939797/

UMass Football
‏@UMassFootball

The 2018 Maroon vs. White Spring Game awaits us tomorrow!

Our kickoff time is now slated for 6:30 PM.

[McKinney]

UMass Counting On Veteran Experienced Offensive Line
http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-footbal ... e-16832114

That remains to be seen by the public, but I'll hold out hope.

[Jack]

UMass Counting On Veteran Experienced Offensive Line
http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-footbal ... e-16832114

That remains to be seen by the public, but I'll hold out hope.

What remains to be seen? We'll have a veteran returning Offensive line that will be a HUGE part of our continued improvement in 2018. I'm really looks forward to seeing improvement in the Offensive execution and the ability to consistently run the ball well. We have some big games on tap and the OLine will be Key in winning those games.

[McKinney]

UMass Counting On Veteran Experienced Offensive Line
http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-footbal ... e-16832114

That remains to be seen by the public, but I'll hold out hope.

What remains to be seen? We'll have a veteran returning Offensive line that will be a HUGE part of our continued improvement in 2018. I'm really looks forward to seeing improvement in the Offensive execution and the ability to consistently run the ball well. We have some big games on tap and the OLine will be Key in winning those games.

What remains to be seen is a good offensive line. They'll be experienced (and we're assuming experience==improvement), but that doesn't mean they'll even be average in performance.

[Old Cage]

^ This doesn't help: http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-football-16858710

"UMass offensive lineman Jack Driscoll to transfer"

[minutefanjsf]

^ This doesn't help: http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-football-16858710

"UMass offensive lineman Jack Driscoll to transfer"

Never seen something like this. The kid graduated undergrad in three years, much like Breneman an frohnapel. He must have done something or had a less than stellar academic performance even though he graduated in three years? I wonder how many students go through Isenberg undergrad but get rejected by the grad school. I'd like to see if his rejection is the norm or exception.

[Jack]

What remains to be seen is a good offensive line. They'll be experienced (and we're assuming experience==improvement), but that doesn't mean they'll even be average in performance.

That isn't what the article is about superfan. The article is about a veteran experienced OLine. Which is what we have as of April 2018. I realize that you idiotically still want to fire the best head coach in program history but attacking the OLine in the off season is even a new level of foolishness even for you.

"I noticed on that schedule that there are no games in May or June or July....so it doesn’t look like the regular season is going to start until September this year. So, that’s four months of team building. There will be other player acquisitions and deletions.... there are no games scheduled in May." BB

[dennisdent]

^ This doesn't help: http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-football-16858710

"UMass offensive lineman Jack Driscoll to transfer"

Never seen something like this. The kid graduated undergrad in three years, much like Breneman an frohnapel. He must have done something or had a less than stellar academic performance even though he graduated in three years? I wonder how many students go through Isenberg undergrad but get rejected by the grad school. I'd like to see if his rejection is the norm or exception.

This is so UMass! They couldn't find one slot for the kid who graduated in three years and played football...I understand that the grad school has high standards but they need to look at the overall student--the UMass student/alum. This just shows how special Froh and Breneman are.

[dennisdent]

What remains to be seen is a good offensive line. They'll be experienced (and we're assuming experience==improvement), but that doesn't mean they'll even be average in performance.

That isn't what the article is about superfan. The article is about a veteran experienced OLine. Which is what we have as of April 2018. I realize that you idiotically still want to fire the best head coach in program history but attacking the OLine in the off season is even a new level of foolishness even for you.

"I noticed on that schedule that there are no games in May or June or July....so it doesn’t look like the regular season is going to start until September this year. So, that’s four months of team building. There will be other player acquisitions and deletions.... there are no games scheduled in May." BB

Jack, just stop with being a dick--you're better than that .

[minutefanjsf]

^ This doesn't help: http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-football-16858710

"UMass offensive lineman Jack Driscoll to transfer"

Never seen something like this. The kid graduated undergrad in three years, much like Breneman an frohnapel. He must have done something or had a less than stellar academic performance even though he graduated in three years? I wonder how many students go through Isenberg undergrad but get rejected by the grad school. I'd like to see if his rejection is the norm or exception.

This is so UMass! They couldn't find one slot for the kid who graduated in three years and played football...I understand that the grad school has high standards but they need to look at the overall student--the UMass student/alum. This just shows how special Froh and Breneman are.

The more I think about this, the more I believe that there has to be something else up. Whip may have screwed up by publicly stating that he didn’t get into the school. Privacy laws probably protect Driscoll from that being disclosed by anyone other than him. Whip saying this seems to be covering and saying it had nothing he or the program had nothing to do with it. If he had announced he was graduating and grad transferring I would not have been surprised. Driscoll is a stud OL. It seems to me that it is possible he intended to grad transfer and maybe he got left at the altar by a bigger name program and tried to come back and that didn’t sit well with Whip. All of this is pure speculation and conjecture on my part. I have no knowledge, but it just seems very weird.

[minutefanjsf]

What remains to be seen is a good offensive line. They'll be experienced (and we're assuming experience==improvement), but that doesn't mean they'll even be average in performance.

That isn't what the article is about superfan. The article is about a veteran experienced OLine. Which is what we have as of April 2018. I realize that you idiotically still want to fire the best head coach in program history but attacking the OLine in the off season is even a new level of foolishness even for you.

"I noticed on that schedule that there are no games in May or June or July....so it doesn’t look like the regular season is going to start until September this year. So, that’s four months of team building. There will be other player acquisitions and deletions.... there are no games scheduled in May." BB

Jack, just stop with being a dick--you're better than that .

FYI Mac and DB won more than Whip. (I’m not even counting the FBS record for Whip; counting that Whip falls dramatically down the list. He’s under .500 actually.) Also, McKinney indicated we should be bowling this year and if not then that would be fireable. Jack how long do you keep a coach who has losing record? Do you see any scenario where Whip should stop be relived of his coaching duties or does he get a lifetime contract because he won the 1998 1AA championship?