2018 Richmond Spiders Preview - Virginia Sports Report

[virginiasportsreport]

Good evening! I represent Virginia Sports Report and we cover all Division 1 teams in the state of Virginia. I will be periodically posting different articles and information as it pertains to UofR. Today, we continued our season previews by previewing your Spiders football team.

Here's the link:

https://t.co/Rj17riBzn1

 

[32counter]

Gus played high school ball at Paul Vl NoVa

In Spring game:

“Redshirt freshman defensive back Gus Lee took home Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. Lee recorded a game-high seven tackles, including one for loss, while also notching an interception for the Red team.”

 

[SpiderFan]

One thing to note on this preview and something I took note of as well, is that we may very well be 2-4 to start the season and people may be panicking...but the last half of the schedule presents an opportunity to run off 5 Ws to end the season. 7-4 may not be enough for the playoffs but it'll be a step forward after last year.

 

[I-M-UR]

losing to Stony Brook, JMU and then Delaware will simply bring up the Rocco debacle again. And finishing with 5 wins becomes that much more emotionally difficult, especially with a very limited shot at a playoff slot. We need to win at least one of those three.

 

[MooreHall73]

We beat Delaware this year because there is a God!

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

We beat Delaware this year because there is a God!

We must destroy the JMU Dillweeds. They are, as usual, making snide remarks about our stadium. Go to their site and see their rendition of our stadium seating chart. What a bunch of morons!

 

[urfan1]

We must destroy the JMU Dillweeds. They are, as usual, making snide remarks about our stadium. Go to their site and see their rendition of our stadium seating chart. What a bunch of morons!

I find watching grass grow to be more interesting

 

[whampas]

Their colors are still purple and yellow. Lol.

 

[I-M-UR]

I find watching grass grow to be more interesting

Certainly the grass is more intellectually interesting.

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

I find watching grass grow to be more interesting

Or watching paint dry. Or watching boring soccer.

 

[ItsOnlyaGame3]

One thing to note on this preview and something I took note of as well, is that we may very well be 2-4 to start the season and people may be panicking...but the last half of the schedule presents an opportunity to run off 5 Ws to end the season. 7-4 may not be enough for the playoffs but it'll be a step forward after last year.

Several teams lost talented players due to graduation or some other circumstance. KJ is going to be a great leader for our team in the locker room and on the field. KJ proven! The receiving group is arguably one of the best/if not the best in FCS. The OL should be strong with returning starter center John Yarbough and RS LT Timothy Coleman II (FSC Freshman All-American while attending Furman). Both have played in big games and played well. The Defensive line is promising with Clyde and played exceptionally strong in the latter part of the season. Linebackers, I’m unsure of. Db’s are another strong point with added speed and better coverage in one on one situations. I can see us at 8-3 or even 9-2.

? - VIRGINIA

W - FORDHAM

W - SAINT FRANCIS (PA.) (FAMILY WEEKEND)

? - STONY BROOK

? - JAMES MADISON

W - DELAWARE

W - ALBANY

W - ELON

W - VILLANOVA (HOMECOMING)

W - MAINE

W - WILLIAM & MARY

Virginia lost several players (graduated players/transfers/discipline issues) and are in a rebuilding stage especially on the DL . They just recently added several players to their defensive line (transfers) to add depth and have a new transfer QB, possibly starting. Their DL, OL, and DB groups are questionable. The linebacker group is solid and have great leadership. We can possible still this one with our new offensive strategy, run/pass option and wear them down.

This is just my opinion! Sure, each aspect of my observation can be torn apart, but I believe until proven on the field.

 

[Stonewall D]

UR goes 6-5, with losses to Delaware and JMU, and maybe Stony Brook. None of these games will be easy. The following will not be easy wins-
Fordham- I would rather UR played their basketball team.
Elon-made the playoffs last year.
Albany- a tough game.
Villanova- always a tough game.
W&M- eternal rival.
The run pass option is a formula for QB injury, but JMHO.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

UR goes 6-5, with losses to Delaware and JMU, and maybe Stony Brook. None of these games will be easy. The following will not be easy wins-
Fordham- I would rather UR played their basketball team.
Elon-made the playoffs last year.
Albany- a tough game.
Villanova- always a tough game.
W&M- eternal rival.
The run pass option is a formula for QB injury, but JMHO.

Our basketball team couldn't beat Fordham last season.

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

Or watching paint dry. Or watching soccer.

 

[virginiasportsreport]

Elon will be tough but just a couple of notes on them.

1. Yes, they were a playoff team but they squeaked by some teams last year. Albany went 4-7 last year and while they had a good defense, a 6-0 win? Not great. Gave up a massive lead to lowly W&M last year. Tribe had ball late in the 4th down just a posession. They beat RI by 1 point. Went do double OT with Towson. And they ended on a 3 game skid. Again, they aren't going to be easy but they were nearly 5-7.

2. They have to replace safety Chris Blair. Depending on who fills that spot, they could be vulnerable to a RPO attack. One guy to keep an eye on obviously is Warren Messer.

They also have JMU and Delaware, both on the road, before hosting you guys. There's a good chance those two offenses wear down their defense, and they're beat up by the time October 20th rolls around. A tough match-up for sure but that's I picked Richmond to win that one.

I plan to be at the Delaware game, and would love to meet many of you there. Give those Blue Hens hell!

 

[virginiasportsreport]

Side note...thank you all for reading it and thanks for the comments. I'll make sure to post a link to our JMU preview, so you all can bash the Dukes. lol

 

[urmite]

In an early listing, apparently Massey likes our chances against UD (or has no faith in Rocco)
https://www.masseyratings.com/team.php?t=6547&s=300937

 

[Spider2020]

In an early listing, apparently Massey likes our chances against UD (or has no faith in Rocco)
https://www.masseyratings.com/team.php?t=6547&s=300937

Interesting that they give us a better chance of beating UVA than JMU

 

[MooreHall73]

Massey has UR winning 8 games. Seems a bit optimistic.

 

[ItsOnlyaGame3]

I agree with him. Not necessarily the same games, but 8 wins is highly possible. UVA is in a rebuilding stage and I believe low morale among the players. If we can score early and stay with them through the third quarter, their coach could cause their team to implode. Wishful thinking of course.

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

In a little over eight weeks we play The Dillweeds!
Destroy them!