From the Perch: Virginia Tech

Oct 7, 2019

Series:

After this breakdown I am going to need a raise and a vacation. So much to unpack but here are some thoughts on the game.

Jarren Williams' first interception was not necessarily a bad decision to throw, but a combination of not attacking the ball with your hands by Mike Harley, a great reaction by the DB after getting his hips turned, and an unlucky bounce.
Jarren's second interception was not sound mechanically and a bad mental decision when he threw the ball back inside when Wiggins won it outside.
Jarren's third interception was a byproduct of being hit, being in third and long, and trying to force a ball into a leveraged position when the DB knew the down and distance.
This offensive line is atrocious. The lack of communication and overall fundamental breakdowns that plague them from play to play is apparent.
If Zion Nelson is the best Left Tackle they have, then this program is in really bad shape. I honestly feel bad for this young man's confidence. He consistently gets beat on a week-to-week basis.
Miami got victimized so easily on a spin move with a 3-man rush (I say the tackle needs to apologize but was quickly educated by Brett Romberg that the right guard was supposed to kick out vs. that look once the LB backed away from the LOS). This is why I call myself a student. But man, that even makes the situation look worse if you ask me.
I don't think Butch Barry should keep his job if his offensive line does not improve. I will make this clear, though: This offensive line has gotten worse after week zero not better. Not even remotely.
N'Kosi Perry's interception was bad because it was in the red zone. But honestly the CB might have gotten away with one. No way it would ever have gotten called though, it was not in view of the ref but he definitely holds Wiggins arm down and then springs in front. Almost chalk that up to rubbing is racing.
I don't see how Enos looks at this film and still plays in a phone booth seeing this second half. I really don't. It was inverse. He sprinkled in under center concepts while being predominantly gun spread rather than his usual propensity to be under center while sprinkling in gun concepts. I felt it was much easier to navigate the noise.
If Blake Baker had any feel for situations late in ball games (4th and 17) this team could be 4-1. His late game calls considering he was victimized by the same play that torched him earlier in the game and the fact his defensive call to put Bandy on an island while keeping the free safety in the boundary away from him were not necessarily lock down calls IMO.
I really wish someone much smarter than me would invent a program that would rate a play caller's play call with algorithms with built in things like, down and distance, QB archetype, play previously, previous call success rates, etc. etc.
If Manny takes over for play calling on defense, I don't necessarily disagree with it.
N'Kosi Perry did not benefit because VT took its foot off the gas defensively. They actually remained aggressive throughout the whole game.
N'Kosi Perry has definitely improved since last year.
Manny might not have wanted one, but a quarterback controversy just went back into his lap

As always please subscribe to my YouTube page and that will be much appreciated. Thanks as always. Go Canes.

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D
DomWorld_Peace

Oct 8, 2019

There's not a single coach on this staff I respect. Only Rumph has proven to be legit. Al Blades looks GOOD. Bandy has been up and down, but played well since that drive vs UNC.

g8rh8rMD

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
After this breakdown I am going to need a raise and a vacation. So much to unpack but here are some thoughts on the game.

Jarren Williams' first interception was not necessarily a bad decision to throw, but a combination of not attacking the ball with your hands by Mike Harley, a great reaction by the DB after getting his hips turned, and an unlucky bounce.

Jarren's second interception was not sound mechanically and a bad mental decision when he threw the ball back inside when Wiggins won it outside.

Jarren's third interception was a byproduct of being hit, being in third and long, and trying to force a ball into a leveraged position when the DB knew the down and distance.

This offensive line is atrocious. The lack of communication and overall fundamental breakdowns that plague them from play to play is apparent.

If Zion Nelson is the best Left Tackle they have, then this program is in really bad shape. I honestly feel bad for this young man's confidence. He consistently gets beat on a week-to-week basis.

Miami got victimized so easily on a spin move with a 3-man rush (I say the tackle needs to apologize but was quickly educated by Brett Romberg that the right guard was supposed to kick out vs. that look once the LB backed away from the LOS). This is why I call myself a student. But man, that even makes the situation look worse if you ask me.

I don't think Butch Barry should keep his job if his offensive line does not improve. I will make this clear, though: This offensive line has gotten worse after week zero not better. Not even remotely.

N'Kosi Perry's interception was bad because it was in the red zone. But honestly the CB might have gotten away with one. No way it would ever have gotten called though, it was not in view of the ref but he definitely holds Wiggins arm down and then springs in front. Almost chalk that up to rubbing is racing.

I don't see how Enos looks at this film and still plays in a phone booth seeing this second half. I really don't. It was inverse. He sprinkled in under center concepts while being predominantly gun spread rather than his usual propensity to be under center while sprinkling in gun concepts. I felt it was much easier to navigate the noise.

If Blake Baker had any feel for situations late in ball games (4th and 17) this team could be 4-1. His late game calls considering he was victimized by the same play that torched him earlier in the game and the fact his defensive call to put Bandy on an island while keeping the free safety in the boundary away from him were not necessarily lock down calls IMO.

I really wish someone much smarter than me would invent a program that would rate a play caller's play call with algorithms with built in things like, down and distance, QB archetype, play previously, previous call success rates, etc. etc.

If Manny takes over for play calling on defense, I don't necessarily disagree with it.

N'Kosi Perry did not benefit because VT took its foot off the gas defensively. They actually remained aggressive throughout the whole game.

N'Kosi Perry has definitely improved since last year.

Manny might not have wanted one, but a quarterback controversy just went back into his lap

As always please subscribe to my YouTube page and that will be much appreciated. Thanks as always. Go Canes.

If Manny calls Enos into his office on (this past) Sunday morning and says "this it not working, you need to open it up or I'm going to have to find someone that will", and Enos says "fvck it, he's right, what have I got to lose? Let's roll some dice.", this team will go right back to winning. If Enos continues to put his pride and his ego ahead of the team and the program, we'll remain fvcked just like we are right now.

The defense is clearly a problem, the offensive line has gotten worse rather than better, and yet the players keep finding a way to fight themselves back into games and the offense produces once the game has already been all but lost and the shackles are taken off. It's not like this a$$clown CAN'T call an aggressive offense, he just chooses not to (thus far).

If we come out acting like a crazy person looking for blood with nothing left to lose, we can and will win. A total mentality shift is required for that to happen. Unleash these talented players and stop trying to make them better at what they're bad at, instead, let's do less of what we are bad at and let them go do what they are good at.

Last edited: Oct 8, 2019

gogeta4

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
Zion is a liability at left tackle. No way around it. Leaving him in at this point is not going to bode well for his confidence long term if he has any propensity to doubt himself.

Simply gets beat way to early and often which leads Miami in a really strange predicament.

I've heard "he's the best option we have at LT" and that is essentially an indictment to the lack of offensive line depth this team has. OR he isn't the best option and the staff's ability to evaluate and implement talent is less than to be desired. I don't know which one is worse.

In either case after 5 games in I can attest this offensive line is not communicating like it should and getting bested routinely. It's really bad along the lines of balance as well. We are getting knocked over, hooked, shooed aside way too easily for my liking. Seems like I catch an offensive linemen falling over from a simple swim or rip repeatedly especially at tackle.

I'm not a technique offensive line guy... I'm more the look over their heads and see what's down field type... but I can see the stats and they are dead last protecting the qb while getting worse not better.

Miami fired a coach after 36 sacks given up once. Miami is currently on pace for a staggering 60 sacks given up in a single season. Now I know from reports that the offensive line kids respect butch and that's he's a good coach but I don't think I can accept the fact he'd be allowed to keep his job at this rate.

Miami does NOT have offensive line talent THIS bad. It's bad but it's not THAT bad. They've out recruited the likes of old dominion, new Mexico state etc. Etc. And when you consider Duke has marched out a freshman at left tackle and a red shirt freshman playing offensive line vs VT PITT AND BAMA yet only given up 4?

Something isn't adding up. Schematically, fundamentally, **** philosophically. Butch should be on the hot seat. Something this bad week to week needs to start somewhere with accountability. It's big business... why not him?

They are getting worse because they are playing..BETTER LINES. It was a myth that UF was the only good line we would see.
Coaching on the OL is bad....but TALENT LEVEL....IS THAT BAD.

Have some of yall seen our OL in real life...guys like Herbert looks like it hurt for them to walk to the locker room, Kennedy ditto. They went all in on Zion Nelson and are like f it...He gets blown by at a rate of about 4-5 times a game where he barely even gets a hand on a guy. Alot of it is technical with him to...he opens the gate to early as he is over compensating after about his 2nd kick step. Donaldson is fat and has no balance. Scaife got cooked out wide last game as well. Gaynor doesnt have good feet. There's multiple stuff wrong with this line...Schematically though Enos does them no favors. But week to week they lose ALOT of one on one matchups...thats not on coaches...thats just on them being sorry. Butch Barry cant change that part of it.

gogeta4

Oct 8, 2019

HighSeas said:
The 1st INT was 100% on Harley. It wasn't just poor ball skills and hand technique. He completely rounded his route and drifted directly into the path of the defender. That's an easy completion if Harley flattens his route and stops past the sticks. It's still a completion if Jarren doesn't have a bum shoulder that prevents him from driving the ball with any velocity, but nothing can be done about that if he's on the field.

WR, OL, DL & LB are all position groups that play with horrible technique. There are bad schemes on both sides of the ball but the lack of development and positional teaching is the insidious plague that is costing this program as much as anything. You speak very harshly about Zion Nelson but the poor kid doesn't have a chance with the pass sets he's using. I don't know any OL on the planet who could block his man while shuffling parallel to the sideline, but that's the footwork he uses.

Read my post ABOVE. Im glad im not the only 1 that has seen it.

Roman Marciante

Oct 8, 2019

gogeta4 said:
They are getting worse because they are playing..BETTER LINES. It was a myth that UF was the only good line we would see.
Coaching on the OL is bad....but TALENT LEVEL....IS THAT BAD.

Have some of yall seen our OL in real life...guys like Herbert looks like it hurt for them to walk to the locker room, Kennedy ditto. They went all in on Zion Nelson and are like f it...He gets blown by at a rate of about 4-5 times a game where he barely even gets a hand on a guy. Alot of it is technical with him to...he opens the gate to early as he is over compensating after about his 2nd kick step. Donaldson is fat and has no balance. Scaife got cooked out wide last game as well. Gaynor doesnt have good feet. There's multiple stuff wrong with this line...Schematically though Enos does them no favors. But week to week they lose ALOT of one on one matchups...thats not on coaches...thats just on them being sorry. Butch Barry cant change that part of it.

No way it's 130th in the country bad. But here we are

umiamifan1

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
No way it's 130th in the country bad. But here we are

This is my stance on it as well. Do we have a talent deficiency on the OL, yes...but there's no way that it's the least talented OL (or even close) in the country.

C
CaneDogX

Oct 8, 2019

gogeta4 said:
They are getting worse because they are playing..BETTER LINES. It was a myth that UF was the only good line we would see.
Coaching on the OL is bad....but TALENT LEVEL....IS THAT BAD.

Have some of yall seen our OL in real life...guys like Herbert looks like it hurt for them to walk to the locker room, Kennedy ditto. They went all in on Zion Nelson and are like f it...He gets blown by at a rate of about 4-5 times a game where he barely even gets a hand on a guy. Alot of it is technical with him to...he opens the gate to early as he is over compensating after about his 2nd kick step. Donaldson is fat and has no balance. Scaife got cooked out wide last game as well. Gaynor doesnt have good feet. There's multiple stuff wrong with this line...Schematically though Enos does them no favors. But week to week they lose ALOT of one on one matchups...thats not on coaches...thats just on them being sorry. Butch Barry cant change that part of it.

+100

this man speaks truth. And to add to this point... name one good team with a bad OL. How about a historically bad OL?

Oct 8, 2019

LT Scaife -- LG Campbell? -- C Gaynor -- RG Clark -- RT Donaldson

Nelson should sit for this game at least. This is the best defense we'll face the rest of 2019.
I'm aware that Donaldson is fat and slow but he can down block on run plays and get help from Clark, Jordan and Dallas on passing downs.
He isn't a good enough drive blocker to keep him at LG for the sake of keeping the current starting 5 intact.

plantcity3

Oct 8, 2019

gogeta4 said:
Theyve been doing this almost all year and it hasnt PRODUCED 1 THING for Pinkney. He is 220 pounds ...they literally took a sh*t on him with 3 ol...and if they call that sh*t i would go commando and run my own sh*t and not what the **** Baker drew up.

This is what I have been trying to point out to everyone shytting on our LBs. Not saying they are elite but they get a lot of false blame. Everyone keeps blaming them for the TE going off but nobody knows their assignments.

The first TD from 29, Pinck blitzed and it looks like shaq had a spy. Knowles blitzed from the backside and Hall dropped down post snap to the play side as 29 dragged across the field from the strong side. If we were in man, it looks like Hall was suppose to run with 29.
The second TD from 29, our entire front 7 rushed including Phillips who was in the box leaving the flats wide open
His 3rd TD was on Pinck who bit on the run fake.
29’s catch at the end that put them on the 5 was the exact same play call as the first TD from 29. Same formation and all. We still blitz Pinck and had Shaq spying. Instead of blitzing the back side safety, Phillips dropped to middle 3rds, and Hall dropped down again to the play side post snap as the 29 dragged across the field. This time it looks like we were in zone leaving another void in the flats.

gogeta4

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
No way it's 130th in the country bad. But here we are

you combine....the offensive philosophy, a sloth slow qb...no real short game that slows down the ends rush...Garbage blockers ar RB. And yea....they are just about that bad. AGAIN...OUR STARTING LT was headed to APP STATE. He wasnt a diamond in the rough. He is a big time project that shouldnt see the field for 2 years...yet we suck so bad behind it That he starts. Our center took a shirt last year...and wasnt that good to begin with. We essentially lost like 4 starting level offensive lineman last year. We or are coaches had/have a false sense of reality on the talent level of our OL. **** it was why i wanted to drop a bag on Neal who committed to Bama last year. I saw the garbage coming down the stream 2 years ago at Tackle.

Number1CanesFan

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
Zion is a liability at left tackle. No way around it. Leaving him in at this point is not going to bode well for his confidence long term if he has any propensity to doubt himself.

Simply gets beat way to early and often which leads Miami in a really strange predicament.

I've heard "he's the best option we have at LT" and that is essentially an indictment to the lack of offensive line depth this team has. OR he isn't the best option and the staff's ability to evaluate and implement talent is less than to be desired. I don't know which one is worse.

In either case after 5 games in I can attest this offensive line is not communicating like it should and getting bested routinely. It's really bad along the lines of balance as well. We are getting knocked over, hooked, shooed aside way too easily for my liking. Seems like I catch an offensive linemen falling over from a simple swim or rip repeatedly especially at tackle.

I'm not a technique offensive line guy... I'm more the look over their heads and see what's down field type... but I can see the stats and they are dead last protecting the qb while getting worse not better.

Miami fired a coach after 36 sacks given up once. Miami is currently on pace for a staggering 60 sacks given up in a single season. Now I know from reports that the offensive line kids respect butch and that's he's a good coach but I don't think I can accept the fact he'd be allowed to keep his job at this rate.

Miami does NOT have offensive line talent THIS bad. It's bad but it's not THAT bad. They've out recruited the likes of old dominion, new Mexico state etc. Etc. And when you consider Duke has marched out a freshman at left tackle and a red shirt freshman playing offensive line vs VT PITT AND BAMA yet only given up 4?

Something isn't adding up. Schematically, fundamentally, **** philosophically. Butch should be on the hot seat. Something this bad week to week needs to start somewhere with accountability. It's big business... why not him?

I really believe Diaz and staff had planned for the long term. IMO, they're playing the guys that they believe will develop into studs down the road not necessarily the best guys right now. I believe that decision was at QB as well. I think they decided to take their lumps now and have a veteran team with experience over the next couple of years.

HighSeas

Oct 8, 2019

gogeta4 said:
Read my post ABOVE. Im glad im not the only 1 that has seen it.

Sorry I missed that...agree with all your evaluations and analysis of the coaching.

M
mackjones

Oct 8, 2019

Mico Jones said:
Holy **** at that defensive alignment on the Hooker fade that beat Bandy

Yeah. I was mumbling to myself, WHERE IS the Hurricane safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M
mackjones

Oct 8, 2019

Number1CanesFan said:
The thing is that Manny thinks he can squash a QB controversy simply by naming Jarren the starter. I think this is a big mistake. IMO, he should have said, "We'll evaluate both QBs and make a decision that's best for the team right now." Instead, he reiterating, "Jarren's our guy", etc.

It was clear the team was energized and played harder when N'Kosi was in the game. Just because you name Jarren the starter does NOT quash a QB controversy. If anything it adds fuel to the fire. The players know who is performing. The fans can see it. I know it's just 1 game, but the fans will be all over Jarren as soon as he makes a mistake. If Jarren doesn't perform well against Virginia, his teammates will be deflated and you now have a divided locker room.

What I have been posting lately that concerns me is that I believe after 4 now 5 games the ACC has the book on Jarren. Opponents are crowding the line of scrimmage playing tight press coverage taking away or strongly contesting the short and intermediate throws. They don't feel threatened deep by Jarren and are daring him to beat them deep which is not his strength. That what a good defense and DC does. Force you to beat them with your weakest aspect of your game.

Jarren has to get out of his comfort zone and push the ball deep. The plays are there to be made even with the porous offensive line. We saw N'Kosi push the ball deep with the same plays and the same offensive line so it can be done.

The season is on the line. This is a must win game to salvage the season and have any chance to stay in the Coastal race. There's going to be a lot of pressure on Jarren to perform well on Friday. I hope he's up to the task. The question is how long do you go with Jarren if the offense struggles?

I

Grandpa Foster basically said the same you mentioned above. And like you mentioned, ALL opposing teams absolutely have the BOOK on both JW and Eno's now. OUCH.

M
mackjones

Oct 8, 2019

Canesfan1899 said:
Blake Baker may need to start packing his bags, that defensive performance was god awful. Seemed completely unprepared for a running QB, and had us out of position all game.

BB should have been CHIT-CANNED after the Va. Tech game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And dig this Miami fan. IF Virginia lights up the SLS scoreboard. Then BB should be immediately fired on the spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And yes, he'll be compensated financially. Because he'll be paid the remaining games of his one-year contract.

Canestomp

Oct 8, 2019

Roman Marciante said:
If Manny takes over for play calling on defense, I don't necessarily disagree with it.

This point alone is the difference between Miami being 5-0 and 2-3.

Whatever the **** Baker is doing--we need to do the opposite.

Miami[]_[]Smoke

Oct 8, 2019

Number1CanesFan said:
I really believe Diaz and staff had planned for the long term. IMO, they're playing the guys that they believe will develop into studs down the road not necessarily the best guys right now. I believe that decision was at QB as well. I think they decided to take their lumps now and have a veteran team with experience over the next couple of years.

nobody is that stupid To think it’s okay to be dead last in all these fbs categories, struggle to make a bowl, and lose your recruiting class in the process...you can get better without getting your *** handed to you for an entire year

Number1CanesFan

Oct 9, 2019

Miami[]_[]Smoke said:
nobody is that stupid To think it’s okay to be dead last in all these fbs categories, struggle to make a bowl, and lose your recruiting class in the process...you can get better without getting your *** handed to you for an entire year

I agree with you. Obviously, they didn't plan to be 125th+ in a bunch of categories, but I believe the thought is that if 2 guys are close, play the young guy because he'll have the most upside. I just think this is what he's doing. Just listen to how Manny talks. He's always referring to how good Zion is going to be down the road. I don't agree with it. I think other guys should get a shot because the young guys are not getting it done in the game even if they are the best option in practice. For that matter, neither are the older guys. Donalson looked horrible against VT.

Number1CanesFan

Oct 9, 2019

LoungeLord said:
But Manny said it wasn't the schemes, it was just the execution.

Same thing Richt said last year. Coaches have to take accountability either way. They are responsible for the performance of the players and the scheme.

J
Jassid82

Oct 9, 2019

gogeta4 said:
They are getting worse because they are playing..BETTER LINES. It was a myth that UF was the only good line we would see.
Coaching on the OL is bad....but TALENT LEVEL....IS THAT BAD.

Have some of yall seen our OL in real life...guys like Herbert looks like it hurt for them to walk to the locker room, Kennedy ditto. They went all in on Zion Nelson and are like f it...He gets blown by at a rate of about 4-5 times a game where he barely even gets a hand on a guy. Alot of it is technical with him to...he opens the gate to early as he is over compensating after about his 2nd kick step. Donaldson is fat and has no balance. Scaife got cooked out wide last game as well. Gaynor doesnt have good feet. There's multiple stuff wrong with this line...Schematically though Enos does them no favors. But week to week they lose ALOT of one on one matchups...thats not on coaches...thats just on them being sorry. Butch Barry cant change that part of it.

We all laughed when Bryant McKinnie did some offseason work with these guys and said flat out they needed ALOT of work and that he probably only saw one guy MAYBE who could play in the NFL. (Donaldson). Its not funny anymore. He wasn't lying one bit.