Don't blame Richt or Kaaya; this stretch was inevitable

David Perez
4 min read
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This was supposed to be the game Miami bounced back.

Coming off of yet another heartbreaking loss against Florida State, the ‘Canes were supposed to come out and dominate UNC. They were definitely the favorites after UNC’s loss to Virginia Tech at home, and fans were ready to get the “block at the rock” out of their mind.

Fans clamored for a more “creative” offense after putting up only 19 points against Florida State, and were hoping Miami came out guns blazing offensively against North Carolina.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, the Hurricanes put up a mere 13 points, and fumbled the game away on a potential game-tying drive with less than 2 minutes remaining.

After the game fans voiced their concerns, pointing to playcalling and decision-making from Brad Kaaya as the reason for the defeat. Outrage spread through online forums and social media, as fans looked for a scapegoat to blame the loss on.

The fact is; however, none of the aforementioned people are responsible for the last two defeats. This years team is simply a product of the reality prior regimes created.

Over the past couple of seasons, Miami’s fan base began to coin the phrase “we have the talent, just not the coaching,” and in 2014 there was much validity to that statement.

The ‘Canes had two first round draft picks that year, and players such as Duke Johnson, Denzel Perryman, and Jon Feliciano have excelled from that class as well. What has been lost in translation; however, is that the depth on that team is non-existent today.

Al Golden was often referred to as a “used car salesman,” and once 2015 rolled around his pitch got old. Miami began to lose more talent than they acquired, and the cupboard turned empty after bad recruiting classes such as his last one in 2015.

The epitome of this statement comes at the cornerback position. Top prospects such as Nigel Bethel and Tyler Byrd decommitted once they realized the direction of the program, and a position that was a strength in 2014 became a glaring weakness two years later.
Corn Elder is playing as well as any cornerback in the ACC right now; but if you look otherwise, there is little to no depth. Richt immediately brought in graduate transfer Adrian Colbert, and shuffled the deck in preparing sophomore Sheldrick Redwine to become a starter. Redwine barely got snaps on defense last season, but due to a lack of depth he has been thrusted onto the field.

Al Golden’s past recruiting failures have forced players such as Redwine to play large roles they may not be ready for yet.

The depth issues aren’t just in the defensive backfield; however, they are all over the roster.

Miami’s offensive line was filled with first year starters last year, and Trevor Darling has been forced to start since his freshman year. Miami is among the nation’s leaders in number of freshman starters, and key positions such as wide receiver and linebacker are relying on first year players to make an impact.

On Saturday several more players got injured, and freshman who need development such as Malek Young, Robert Knowles, and Joe Jackson found themselves on the field when the stakes were highest. Although the coaching staff implements a “next man up” mentality, the depth simply doesn’t allow for success.

As much as fans want to say “you can’t just keep blaming Al Golden,” they must also realize Miami can not leave his shadow until Richt’s recruits enter Coral Gables.

No creative play-calling can cover up an offensive line with no depth, and no quarterback can lead a team on a game winning drive when his protection falters within three seconds.

So before you blame this stretch on Richt for running a “vanilla” offense, or Kaaya for “not making throws down the field,” realize Miami’s new staff can only play with the hand they have been dealt.

And the hand they are dealing with, is a Miami roster that has been depleted by a string of decommitments, and a defeatist culture that has stayed within the program for a decade.
 

Comments (87)

Garbage article.

More excuses. Richt has been terrible. Face facts.
 
Pure garbage...amazes me how the media always goes out of their way to protect UM's coaching staff at the beginning of their regime, no matter how bad the early warning signals are.
 
I stopped reading at "Don't Blame Richt or Kaaya."
 
While I agree that the OL is a huge problem, Richt's play calling plays right into that weakness. Stop trying to force a power running game that is just not there. Stretch the field every once and a while to keep the defense from stacking the box, and get the ball into the hands of Coley, Richards, Njoku, and Herndon.
 
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Yep kissing Richt's *** doesn't pave your career being honest does
 
Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of *******, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.
 
**** article. Richt with his rpo garbage, kaaya and the Online are the reason this team is failing.
 
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Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of *******, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.

Dude just stop you're better than this.

Do you guys even hear yourself with the excuses? It's the same thing many did with the other 3 regimes. When something smells like **** from the beginning...guess what....it's usually ****.

The play calling has been the #1 biggest problem so far this season. We've wasted a ton of plays and downs, and left a ton of yardage and points on the field as a result.
 
Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of *******, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.

Dude just stop you're better than this.

Do you guys even hear yourself with the excuses? It's the same thing many did with the other 3 regimes. When something smells like **** from the beginning...guess what....it's usually ****.

The play calling has been the #1 biggest problem so far this season. We've wasted a ton of plays and downs, and left a ton of yardage and points on the field as a result.

I don't disagree with the analysis that CMR has been bad.

It is undeniable though, we are playing with 75 ships. Then Bruce has been hurt/kicked off, Cager hurt before season, Gray hurt before season. That is essentially 72 ships. Come on, it makes a difference.
 
Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of *******, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.

Dude just stop you're better than this.

Do you guys even hear yourself with the excuses? It's the same thing many did with the other 3 regimes. When something smells like **** from the beginning...guess what....it's usually ****.

The play calling has been the #1 biggest problem so far this season. We've wasted a ton of plays and downs, and left a ton of yardage and points on the field as a result.

I don't disagree with the analysis that CMR has been bad.

It is undeniable though, we are playing with 75 ships. Then Bruce has been hurt/kicked off, Cager hurt before season, Gray hurt before season. That is essentially 72 ships. Come on, it makes a difference.

Bad was Coley.

This is borderline disfunctional. I'm sorry but the # of ships has no bearing on losing to this UNC team or last week's version of FSU. We have more than enough talent to win both of those games, at home.

The blame needs to be pointed directly at the "offensive coordinator" right now.
 
You're using valid points to deflect the criticism of valid play calling weakness. Can you say with straight face that Richt play calling did much to hide the weakness of the players he inherited? I would argue that his offensive strategy and play calling didn't help to mask their weakness. We entered this season with more questions about the defense than the offense. Who else in the country plays defense with 3 freshmen LB's? Yet, Compare Manny Diaz unit to Mark Richt unit and tell me who is dong better at this point of the season?
 
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Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of *******, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.

Dude just stop you're better than this.

Do you guys even hear yourself with the excuses? It's the same thing many did with the other 3 regimes. When something smells like **** from the beginning...guess what....it's usually ****.

The play calling has been the #1 biggest problem so far this season. We've wasted a ton of plays and downs, and left a ton of yardage and points on the field as a result.

I don't disagree with the analysis that CMR has been bad.

It is undeniable though, we are playing with 75 ships. Then Bruce has been hurt/kicked off, Cager hurt before season, Gray hurt before season. That is essentially 72 ships. Come on, it makes a difference.

We played with a nearly fully health team against FSU. Today, the guys we lost were on defense and we pitched a 2nd half shutout when they went out. We have not lost these two games because of these reasons. Now, we may lose our next 2-3 because of depth issues. It's not an excuse for what we've seen so far, I think.
 
Play calling has been awful.

1. Kaaya out of SG used to be unstoppable but under center has always been questionable.
2. Nothing downfield for weeks.
3. RPO offense is pedictable and does not play to our strengths which are TE in seam routs or two excellent WR
4. A simple naked bootleg would have worked in 4Q when we needed the TD
5. All NC was asked to do ALL GAME was stop the RPO.
 
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Right just needs time to get his players in the system.

he has been bad all kidding aside.

he isn't playing with a full deck. we are down a lot of schoolies right now. again richt has been bad. but for the love of ****ing, we are short a lot of players . . . and we do not have many quality OL. it does make a difference.
Dias has improved the defense without "his players". If Richt insists on calling the plays, he should be held to the same standard.
 
It's a foreign concept to Miami based journalists to criticize when criticism is due. Worst media market in the country.
 
Kayaa go out played. Ritchey is play calling like it is the 80's. That **** is not going to work with this **** oline

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
This is one of the worst articles of all time. The defense is playing much better than last year despite losing oodles of talent and experience. The offense is playing much worse this year despite returning pretty much everyone. Coaching is the only logical explanation for each of these.
 
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