As someone who hasn’t missed a game in the last 15 or so years...

[Nmiamicane630]

I’m happy with a W yesterday.
I’ve seen it said on the board since the game ended yesterday, but I will repeat it here.

This was the exact type of game that we would have lost in the Shannon, Golden or
era.

Playing a tough defense at noon following a big loss (especially with a tiny crowd). These types of games typically derailed an otherwise promising season in the past. I’m actually impressed by us.

We didn’t look good, but we still took care of business. This was lacking in many years past. It was feast or famine with our Canes and nothing in between. Good example is what Bama did last week against ole miss. They didn’t look their best but they found a way to win. That’s what makes a great team great (no I am not comparing us to bama).

In my opinion, those “in between” games make the difference between 6-7 win seasons and 9-10 win seasons.

Pitt is a team we always “should” beat. If our canes of the last 10 years beat every team we “should” beat, our past decade would look a lot different. Last year would have looked a lot different if we beat teams like La Tech, FIU and a “reeling” (at the time) Hokies squad. We had a habit of losing to teams we “should” beat, due to lack of respect for the opponent, mentally being checked out, lack of effort or what have you.

Now, I’m still skeptical and we have plenty of time to f*** this season up, but yesterday was a big step in the right direction.

 

[ThomasM]

I was not overly happy with our performance, but when you put up 31 on a good Pitt D and win by 12, it's good. Lashlee was able to get scores by setting the D up perfectly. It was almost like an old fashioned rope a dope.

We have some things to work on, but we have the talent to work with. I do want to see more variety from the O, and King put in a position to see down the field better.

 

[Cknucks305]

We didn’t look great, but we did what good teams do. Beat a team when we have more talent, which is something we haven’t been doing.

 

[ElJefe3]

Take a look around and see that no one is immune from this year. We are still winning games we need to win ugly or not. How many upsets every week? FSU knocking off UNC to top it off. We need to chill on this team.

 

[Mnhurricane]

Bummed that outside of the breakdowns by Pitt we were putrid on offense but past guys wouldn’t have even managed to scheme those breakdowns so progress is progress I guess

 

[kkinder94]

Great observations. We should beat the remaining teams on our schedule, but, like you, I fear we will let a few drop based on our past history. The key is winning. Members of this site want 50 point wins, but that isn't reality. Even the 2001 team had a couple close calls.

 

[Go Canes!!]

If they can’t see how different this team performed so far then that’s on them.

It was a **** good W that should be enjoyed.

 

[Cane919]

We didn’t look great but honestly better then I expected (I called 24-20 Canes). I figured it would be a defensive struggle and sure enough it was. I expected a solid Pitt defense to stymie us a bit, with our defense having some troubles against their short passing game. That has more to do with our scheme then our players, as we continually blitz allowing teams to take advantage of the gaps in our defense.

So I’m good with the W and look forward to this weeks matchup which I expect to be a shootout. Miami 45 - 42.

 

[ajkreider]

If you lose the turnover battle against a team with a good D, you should lose the game. So, happy we won.

Getting a bit concerned about the picks and sacks, but again, that could be the defenses.

 

[Cane919]

If you lose the turnover battle against a team with a good D, you should lose the game. So, happy we won.

Getting a bit concerned about the picks and sacks, but again, that could be the defenses.

I think we just played the two (Clemson & Pitt) if not three (Clemson, Pitt, and FSU) defenses we’ll see all year but turnovers are always a concern.

 

[Mel Bernstein]

Hate to say it, but that would have been a completely different game if Pitt's normal QB was playing. They left a lot of plays on the field against our defense because their QB's were pretty inept. We might have lost if they had their normal QB.

We also can't turn the ball over like that - we gave them really good field position on their scoring drives. King is great, but he can't be throwing too many sideline patterns. They need to figure out a way to get the ball to our guys on short patterns while they are moving (not standing still) and more inside slants, etc. It seems like our routes are taking way too long to develop, or King is just missing open WRs

 

[swampcougar1]

If you lose the turnover battle against a team with a good D, you should lose the game. So, happy we won.

Getting a bit concerned about the picks and sacks, but again, that could be the defenses.

We do not face a defense the rest of our schedule even close to the Pitt defense and Clemson was better than Pitt on defense

 

[ajkreider]

Hate to say it, but that would have been a completely different game if Pitt's normal QB was playing. They left a lot of plays on the field against our defense because their QB's were pretty inept. We might have lost if they had their normal QB.

We also can't turn the ball over like that - we gave them really good field position on their scoring drives. King is great, but he can't be throwing too many sideline patterns. They need to figure out a way to get the ball to our guys on short patterns while they are moving (not standing still) and more inside slants, etc. It seems like our routes are taking way too long to develop, or King is just missing open WRs

Lashlee wants to run, so we will struggle against teams that are good against the run.

 

[j06smith]

Glad we won, but Clemson showed why Lashlee's offense can't and won't sustain itself in its current state. You can't go 3 and out 4 out of 5 possessions then hit a big play against great teams and win. It puts a strain on the defense and wears them down. We have to be more consistent on offense. Now on defense, Baker is not the answer. Secondary is still leaving guys wide open in zone coverage and he won't start the best guys to give our defense a chance for success. Please disguise some of our coverages so that offenses don't always know what defense we're in. This was mentioned last year from an opposing team. They always knew what defense were in.

 

[1mg of Epi]

Bummed that outside of the breakdowns by Pitt we were putrid on offense but past guys wouldn’t have even managed to scheme those breakdowns so progress is progress I guess

All of those TDs were schemed and set up by previous play calls. With zero talent at wr, that’s the best we can do.

 

[1mg of Epi]

Glad we won, but Clemson showed why Lashlee's offense can't and won't sustain itself in its current state. You can't go 3 and out 4 out of 5 possessions then hit a big play against great teams and win. It puts a strain on the defense and wears them down. We have to be more consistent on offense. Now on defense, Baker is not the answer. Secondary is still leaving guys wide open in zone coverage and he won't start the best guys to give our defense a chance for success. Please disguise some of our coverages so that offenses don't always know what defense we're in. This was mentioned last year from an opposing team. They always knew what defense were in.

We have no talent. Lashlee is doing fine w the tools he has.

 

[ThomasM]

Bummed that outside of the breakdowns by Pitt we were putrid on offense but past guys wouldn’t have even managed to scheme those breakdowns so progress is progress I guess

Those plays were designed to break down a D. They were not simple accidents. Well, the Harley TD was a breakdown in the D, but Mallory was wide open as well.

Lashlee has work to do, but he is creating mismatches at times that we just haven't seen in years. To most it looks like the D just screwed up, but a good OC can make a D look silly at times. I just wish the plays in between those gems were better. It's why I said the O yesterday looked like a rope a dope. Do nothing, do nothing, do nothing, then BANG, easy TD. I'll take it, but I prefer sustained drives over constantly having 2nd and 12.

 

[Mnhurricane]

All of those TDs were schemed and set up by previous play calls. With zero talent at wr, that’s the best we can do.

Those plays were designed to break down a D. They were not simple accidents. Well, the Harley TD was a breakdown in the D, but Mallory was wide open as well.

Lashlee has work to do, but he is creating mismatches at times that we just haven't seen in years. To most it looks like the D just screwed up, but a good OC can make a D look silly at times. I just wish the plays in between those gems were better. It's why I said the O yesterday looked like a rope a dope. Do nothing, do nothing, do nothing, then BANG, easy TD. I'll take it, but I prefer sustained drives over constantly having 2nd and 12.

As I said, our previous guys wouldn’t have been able to scheme those breakdowns. Kings threat to run has set that up obviously but good eye by lash to use that

 

[ThomasM]

As I said, our previous guys wouldn’t have been able to scheme those breakdowns. Kings threat to run has set that up obviously but good eye by lash to use that

Our previous guys would outscheme a D as many times all season as Lashlee did yesterday alone.

 

[edge]

We didn’t look great but honestly better then I expected (I called 24-20 Canes). I figured it would be a defensive struggle and sure enough it was. I expected a solid Pitt defense to stymie us a bit, with our defense having some troubles against their short passing game. That has more to do with our scheme then our players, as we continually blitz allowing teams to take advantage of the gaps in our defense.

So I’m good with the W and look forward to this weeks matchup which I expect to be a shootout. Miami 45 - 42.

Dude how do you figure Virginia is going to score 42? They could be the least talented team we play this year.