I guess Mercer is better than we thought

[woffordgrad94]

Post deleted because I sensed it was disagreed with.

[OL FU]

Not sure what that was about. But I think Mercer is better than many thought. I also think Furman better learn how to sustain drives into Touchdowns or we aren't as good as we thought.

[paward]

I think Mercer is a couple years away from contending for tha SoCon. They are ahead of schedule. They remind me of Georgia Southern when they started. Similar atmosphere, fan base, talent and coaching staff.

[ThompsonThe]

Mercer has a dang good coach in Bobby Lamb.

[youwouldno]

Not really.

[woffordgrad94]

I originally said this because a lot of folks predicted Furman to win like 45-10 and they only won by 5. But people are now acting like they aren't at all surprised by the result of this game.

[Reign of Terrier]

I personally didn't think Furman had the offensive fire-power (or team-scoring fire-power) to score more than maybe 35, while Mercer's offense would be the unit to watch, and for the most part they performed well.

I think this game was more about Furman's offense playing poorly than anything else.

[OL FU]

I originally said this because a lot of folks predicted Furman to win like 45-10 and they only won by 5. But people are now acting like they aren't at all surprised by the result of this game.

Well I think I said two or three TDs which of course wasn't correct. We have work to do on offense.

[ElCid]

I originally said this because a lot of folks predicted Furman to win like 45-10 and they only won by 5. But people are now acting like they aren't at all surprised by the result of this game.

I was definitely surprised by the lack of Furman output AND I did not consider the Bobby Lamb effect as much as I should have. I really thought Furman would overpower them.

[MTfan4life]

Does this mean Reinhardt is better than we thought, too? ;)

[The Cats]

But people are now acting like they aren't at all surprised by the result of this game.

I for one was amazed when I heard the score. For the number 17 ranked to only be a second year start up program is stunning. I'm just not sure if the reason for the final score lies in Furman or Mercer.

IMO, Furman has a much steeper hill to climb this season than we first thought.

[ElCid]

Does this mean Reinhardt is better than we thought, too? ;)


Easy, ...wait for it.xlolx

[woffordgrad94]

Maybe Furman isn't as good as we thought. Maybe the loss of Hannon hurts more than originally thought. Maybe Reinhardt is the best offense in NAIA. Maybe Mercer has come far in a short time. Maybe a bunch of things. It is too early to know anything for sure as of yet.

[BearDownMU]

Not so long time listener, first time poster. As you can obviously tell, I'm another one of these hubris-filled, I should know my place Mercer guys.

That being said, I'll lob a grenade early. Since we are new to football and hence I'm new to these types of boards, it's interesting to see the evolution of posts as realities develop. The best one is all of the Mercer-Furman posts leading up to the game where Mercer people seemed to say "Well, we have done pretty well so far (albeit not in a conference near the talent level of the SoCon) and we like what we are seeing, so we feel like we have a chance to maybe be competitive" and other seem to say "You guys might end up being good in a few years, but you should know your place. Oh and by the way, you are going to get you brains beat in by Furman this weekend. Muuwwaaahahahah".

Then after the game is complete, and little under-talented, we-should-know-our place Mercer doesn't get blown out, it's immediately due to the fact that Furman maybe isn't very good. I know there are some didn't make these assertions, but it seems to be the prevailing attitude. I've yet to hear to many people say "Wow, maybe Mercer can play a little bit."

I am a Mercer season ticket holder and was at the game, and watched every snap last night. With that being said, here's what I saw. Furman's secondary and OLB's are fast and super athletic. They pretty much played man all night and played it well. They can cover and I think will continue to frustrate QB's and receivers. Both Furman's DE's are good but Wilkins is a beast. Big, athletic. Great football player. I never saw Hannon play, but Woodruff has some game. When he had time, he hit some big passes and was pretty accurate. He whiffed a couple of throws, but all in all, pretty solid. Also, he's mobile. I think as he gets more experience, his ability to create with his legs will make him much harder to defend.

We gave the Furman OL fits effectively containing the inside run all night. This surprised me, but that's what I saw. The statistical differences were much less broad in the second half. We did a pretty good job running it and made some things happen. Prior to the Wilkins pick 6, there was a minute where Mercer had a real shot to win the game. Or a least be in a position where a long drive and a touchdown might really put significant pressure on Furman. There were dumb penalties from both teams and the game was a bit chippy from time to time.

All in all, Furman made the plays when they needed to and they got the win. Our guys played absolutely as hard as they could, believed they had a right to be on the field and believed they could win. We are all extremely proud of them. We will see how the rest of the year unfolds, but our guys have grit, seem to execute pretty well and play hard. We were a 25 point dog last night and we hung in there. Our team is a couple of juniors, a couple of freshmen and a bunch of sophomores. We are young and still learning, but if last night was any indicator, we are making good progress. If we continue to get better and give max effort, maybe we won't be the doormat everyone seems to think we should be.

Excited to be a part of FCS football! I hope I get to argue with you all real soon!!! ;)

[woffordgrad94]

Nice first post. Welcome to AGS, BearDownMU. I am glad Mercer is in the SoCon.

[FCSfan]

ditto woffordgrad94

[chattanoogamocs]

My only qualifier for Furman not doing as well as expected would be to say...it is no easy task to replace a starting QB with a freshman.

The reality is...Mercer isn't really going to get much respect until everyone in the conference has played them once. Each week forward will either make believers out of everyone...or give them more of a chance to say "I told you so." That is the reality of such an unknown quantity so most people side with historical evidence, which is...it is very rare for a team to do well right out of the gate.

I will say this. I think the Mercer blueprint is great...a serious FCS-level coaching staff + a beautiful facility that really make fans want to come to a game.

(I remember when they hired Bobby Lamb, we were discussing it in the control room at Mocsvision and the consensus was..."well, he isn't going there to coach a non-scholarship team, they must be seriously contemplating moving up to full FCS...and then chance to go to the SoCon came along at just the right time and just sped up the timetable)

[BearDownMU]

Oh, and for the record, Reinhardt would have beaten the '85 Bears. ;)

[chattanoogamocs]

Obviously I am most excited about the return of ETSU...but I was very happy with Mercer joining the SoCon. It seems like they want to do things the right way...which is to support multiple sports, not just put all their eggs in one basket.

[FCSfan]

Oh, and for the record, Reinhardt would have beaten the '85 Bears. ;)

you're gonna fit in nicely with this sorta quote....well done sir

[BearDownMU]

We are equally excited to be in the SoCon. Just getting football was exciting enough, but when we found out we were going scholarship and joining a conference with the tradition of the SoCon, we were over the moon. And I mean that sincerely. We knew the learning curve would be steep and there would be growing pains, but I'm really happy with our progress.

I was a baseball player at Mercer and remain involved with athletics as much as I can. Our President came from Baylor a few years ago and is supremely committed to athletics. He obviously saw the huge return that investment paid at Baylor. It's been exciting to have an administration that wants to invest and make athletics great. We've recently added lacrosse as well.

Our golf team had a great year with some big wins. Our baseball team is on a really nice run right now under Coach Gibson and get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last year. And, well, I'm would imagine you all saw men's basketball and their trip to play the Dookies. Believe it or not, we are excited for the other sports to compete in the SoCon as well. We are trying to grow as a university and I think this is a great progression for us.

[woffordgrad94]

Oh, and for the record, Reinhardt would have beaten the '85 Bears. ;)

The '85 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears? Yeah, they might could've beaten them.

[woffordgrad94]

We are equally excited to be in the SoCon. Just getting football was exciting enough, but when we found out we were going scholarship and joining a conference with the tradition of the SoCon, we were over the moon. And I mean that sincerely. We knew the learning curve would be steep and there would be growing pains, but I'm really happy with our progress.

I was a baseball player at Mercer and remain involved with athletics as much as I can. Our President came from Baylor a few years ago and is supremely committed to athletics. He obviously saw the huge return that investment paid at Baylor. It's been exciting to have an administration that wants to invest and make athletics great. We've recently added lacrosse as well.

Our golf team had a great year with some big wins. Our baseball team is on a really nice run right now under Coach Gibson and get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last year. And, well, I'm would imagine you all saw men's basketball and their trip to play the Dookies. Believe it or not, we are excited for the other sports to compete in the SoCon as well. We are trying to grow as a university and I think this is a great progression for us.

i think Wofford and Mercer could get good rivalries going in football and basketball.

[BearDownMU]

I've gotta brush up on the other schools in the conference and their other sports. I have no idea. I'm still trying to learn how everyone is at football! lol!

[ElCid]

Not so long time listener, first time poster. As you can obviously tell, I'm another one of these hubris-filled, I should know my place Mercer guys.

Welcome Bear. I was happy to see Mercer join the SOCON. I think it is a great fit. And while folks like to talk smack about Football, the tables will turn when it comes to Basketball and Baseball. And I like that Mercer is only 20 miles away and I can go to a SOCON game when I can't get to see my Dogs.

[PaladinFan]

I was definitely surprised by the lack of Furman output AND I did not consider the Bobby Lamb effect as much as I should have. I really thought Furman would overpower them.

I thought so too. Watching warmups I thought the game would be pretty one sided. Furman looked (saying nothing of how Mercer played) much bigger at every position than Mercer. Mercer had a couple of guys of some size that were (I think) their FBS transfers (big OT and DT).

It is really hard to know what that game means. That was a Super Bowl of sorts for Mercer. Heavily billed (billboards all over town), well attended, night game, etc. Frankly, I take some solace in the fact that Furman did not play particularly well, made a lot of mistakes and still won a conference road game.

I personally thought Furman would just try to run over Mercer. For whatever reason, Furman tried a lot of outside runs, lot of slow developing type plays, etc. I personally think that Furman is working off a limited playbook, either by necessity or by design. I imagine the answer to that question may dictate how I feel about this team going forward.

I am interested to see how Mercer holds up over the course of a full season. Furman put a lot of hard licks on Mercer backs and receivers. Probably four or five tackles had Mercer backs off their feet. As I am fairly certain Mercer will be undersized in most SoCon contests (to say nothing of their play or talent), I imagine those types of hits will begin to wear on you over a full conference slate.

[citdog]

furman sucks

[BisonFan02]

furman sucks

"I can't believe I just said I like Furman, UGH!"
-Citdog

:D

[OL FU]

Not so long time listener, first time poster. As you can obviously tell, I'm another one of these hubris-filled, I should know my place Mercer guys.

That being said, I'll lob a grenade early. Since we are new to football and hence I'm new to these types of boards, it's interesting to see the evolution of posts as realities develop. The best one is all of the Mercer-Furman posts leading up to the game where Mercer people seemed to say "Well, we have done pretty well so far (albeit not in a conference near the talent level of the SoCon) and we like what we are seeing, so we feel like we have a chance to maybe be competitive" and other seem to say "You guys might end up being good in a few years, but you should know your place. Oh and by the way, you are going to get you brains beat in by Furman this weekend. Muuwwaaahahahah".

Then after the game is complete, and little under-talented, we-should-know-our place Mercer doesn't get blown out, it's immediately due to the fact that Furman maybe isn't very good. I know there are some didn't make these assertions, but it seems to be the prevailing attitude. I've yet to hear to many people say "Wow, maybe Mercer can play a little bit."

I am a Mercer season ticket holder and was at the game, and watched every snap last night. With that being said, here's what I saw. Furman's secondary and OLB's are fast and super athletic. They pretty much played man all night and played it well. They can cover and I think will continue to frustrate QB's and receivers. Both Furman's DE's are good but Wilkins is a beast. Big, athletic. Great football player. I never saw Hannon play, but Woodruff has some game. When he had time, he hit some big passes and was pretty accurate. He whiffed a couple of throws, but all in all, pretty solid. Also, he's mobile. I think as he gets more experience, his ability to create with his legs will make him much harder to defend.

We gave the Furman OL fits effectively containing the inside run all night. This surprised me, but that's what I saw. The statistical differences were much less broad in the second half. We did a pretty good job running it and made some things happen. Prior to the Wilkins pick 6, there was a minute where Mercer had a real shot to win the game. Or a least be in a position where a long drive and a touchdown might really put significant pressure on Furman. There were dumb penalties from both teams and the game was a bit chippy from time to time.

All in all, Furman made the plays when they needed to and they got the win. Our guys played absolutely as hard as they could, believed they had a right to be on the field and believed they could win. We are all extremely proud of them. We will see how the rest of the year unfolds, but our guys have grit, seem to execute pretty well and play hard. We were a 25 point dog last night and we hung in there. Our team is a couple of juniors, a couple of freshmen and a bunch of sophomores. We are young and still learning, but if last night was any indicator, we are making good progress. If we continue to get better and give max effort, maybe we won't be the doormat everyone seems to think we should be.

Excited to be a part of FCS football! I hope I get to argue with you all real soon!!! ;)

I think that is the big issue for FU right now. GW did the same thing

[PaladinFan]

I think that is the big issue for FU right now. GW did the same thing

Replacing two (good) starters is never an easy thing. Our starting center was playing DT last season.

At this stage, Fowler seems content to let Jon Croft Hollingsworth set conference records and the defense to do its thing. Unfortunately, our defense has scored one fewer touchdown than our offense at this point.

[hypercycloid]

Replacing two (good) starters is never an easy thing. Our starting center was playing DT last season.

At this stage, Fowler seems content to let Jon Croft Hollingsworth set conference records and the defense to do its thing. Unfortunately, our defense has scored one fewer touchdown than our offense at this point.

Losing Thoni hurts, no doubt. We are pretty thin at OL, but I'm confident Smouse will get the guys we do have working together.

I wasn't going to try to use Mercer's first game as a gauge for the rest of their year. I also wasn't about to predict a blowout in a game featuring Bobby Lamb's first time ever on the opposing side of a game against Furman. They wanted this one bad and it showed in the chippiness of the game.

I hope this was a confidence builder for Woodruff. We've got a pretty excellent group of receivers this year.

Welcome to the SoCon, Mercer.

[BearDownMU]

It's interesting to me, because I've seen some differing opinions on the Furman board, but I thought Woodruff was pretty damn good, honestly. As I mentioned, he was under duress quite a bit and made some really big throws. And not only some big throws but some throws into tight spots. My memory might be failing me, but I specifically recall a big pass over a linebacker and inside the trailing corner to a wide receiver fora bout a 35 yard gain. Dropped it in the bucket. Also, more than anything, I didn't see a lot of plays where he made a read and I thought "That was a bad decision." Pretty impressive for a youngster, IMO

Also, I think he can really do some damage with his feet once he gets comfortable. Seems really athletic and mobile. I'm sure Coach Fowler didn't want him freelancing a ton, but there were a couple of plays he could have made some hay if he just vacated the pocket and took off, but it seemed like he was focused on going through his progressions and sticking to the play.

[hypercycloid]

Thanks BearDown, and I do think Woodruff is a very good qb -- didn't mean to imply otherwise. I just meant that as a redshirt freshman confidence from real game experience will be huge for him. There were a couple of throws to Snellings that had to be right on the money because Snellings was getting swarmed.

[PaladinFan]

It's interesting to me, because I've seen some differing opinions on the Furman board, but I thought Woodruff was pretty damn good, honestly. As I mentioned, he was under duress quite a bit and made some really big throws. And not only some big throws but some throws into tight spots. My memory might be failing me, but I specifically recall a big pass over a linebacker and inside the trailing corner to a wide receiver fora bout a 35 yard gain. Dropped it in the bucket. Also, more than anything, I didn't see a lot of plays where he made a read and I thought "That was a bad decision." Pretty impressive for a youngster, IMO

Also, I think he can really do some damage with his feet once he gets comfortable. Seems really athletic and mobile. I'm sure Coach Fowler didn't want him freelancing a ton, but there were a couple of plays he could have made some hay if he just vacated the pocket and took off, but it seemed like he was focused on going through his progressions and sticking to the play.

I think that is the great debate among Furman fans. Furman, even under Lamb, would keep things close to the vest early in the year against teams they should beat on talent alone. I fully expected Furman to line up in the I and just try to run over Mercer. I expected a lot of sweeps, load options, and quick hitting runs. That is not at all what we got. You saw the touchdown run with Hank McCloud was out of the I, and near the end of the game Furman went to a little more traditional single back set. Both of those sets had success against what had to be a very tired Mercer defense.

Woodruff can throw. That was also his first start of the season and first full game in a year (he missed all of last year with injury). So, you expected some rustiness (especially with a new center). What boggled me was why Furman didn't continue to throw mortar shells into Mercer's defensive backfield. Furman has several really good receivers (#1 and #3 in particular), but I really felt like they were underused despite Jordan Snellings 100+ yard night.

It is really hard to know. Hank McCloud was injured in week 1 and limited in pre-season. He came out rusty and then started to show flashes of his 1,000 type abilities. I imagine the playbook was somewhat limited given the freshman QB. You would have thought with all the pressure Mercer was trying to apply that you would have seen some screens, draws, etc. from Furman. It was just very vanilla out there. The real question for Furman fans is whether our offense is just going to be very "meh" this season, or have the first two games been scripted out of the first two chapters of the multi-volume playbook.