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Can the people who know ball more explain the second half to me?

Thoughtsoncanes

Thoughtsoncanes

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Can someone who understands the X’s and O’s better than me explain what exactly happened in the second half?


We were basically going up and down the field in the first half. Wake really couldn’t stop us. Then it seemed like they made some relatively minor adjustments, particularly playing more man with Malachi out, and suddenly we had five drives where we didn’t get a single first down. How is that even possible? I understand an opponent making adjustments and slowing you down, but going from moving the ball almost at will to five drives without a first down is pretty unbelievable.


I feel like there are a couple things going on. First, I really don’t think the coaches have confidence in our ability to get push inside, and frankly I don’t blame them. Something has to be figured out with the interior OL. We simply are not getting the necessary push. If that means fast-tracking Cantwell at RT and moving McCoy back inside to guard, then I think you at least have to seriously consider it. Because at some point, this interior OL is going to cost us a football game.


The other issue is Malachi being out. Without him, I’m not sure defenses respect our other receivers enough to believe they can consistently beat man coverage. Wake seemed perfectly comfortable challenging those guys one-on-one, and if they found something that worked, you can guarantee everybody else on the schedule is going to see the same film.


And then what happened with Mensah and the playcalling? It felt like the entire offense went into a shell. Again, I understand Wake making adjustments. What I don’t understand is seemingly having no counterpunch whatsoever. Five drives without a first down after what we did offensively in the first half is really hard for me to wrap my head around.


That’s probably my biggest concern coming out of this game. Every team we play is going to look at what Wake did in that second half. Until Miami proves it can beat it, that’s going to be the template. Play us aggressively, challenge these receivers in man coverage without Malachi, and see if our OL can consistently win inside.


So what’s the answer? What did Wake change schematically, and why couldn’t we adjust to it?


The first half was fantastic. There was obviously a lot to like. And the injuries are starting to pile up to an almost absurd degree, which certainly isn’t helping. But I don’t think you can just write off what happened in that second half either. If Miami plays offensively the way it did during that stretch against the better teams on the schedule, I don’t think that’s playoff-level football.


I’m genuinely curious what people who understand the scheme better than I do saw. What exactly did Wake do differently, and why did we have no answer for it?
 
Thoughtsoncanes said:
Can someone who understands the X’s and O’s better than me explain what exactly happened in the second half?


We were basically going up and down the field in the first half. Wake really couldn’t stop us. Then it seemed like they made some relatively minor adjustments, particularly playing more man with Malachi out, and suddenly we had five drives where we didn’t get a single first down. How is that even possible? I understand an opponent making adjustments and slowing you down, but going from moving the ball almost at will to five drives without a first down is pretty unbelievable.


I feel like there are a couple things going on. First, I really don’t think the coaches have confidence in our ability to get push inside, and frankly I don’t blame them. Something has to be figured out with the interior OL. We simply are not getting the necessary push. If that means fast-tracking Cantwell at RT and moving McCoy back inside to guard, then I think you at least have to seriously consider it. Because at some point, this interior OL is going to cost us a football game.


The other issue is Malachi being out. Without him, I’m not sure defenses respect our other receivers enough to believe they can consistently beat man coverage. Wake seemed perfectly comfortable challenging those guys one-on-one, and if they found something that worked, you can guarantee everybody else on the schedule is going to see the same film.


And then what happened with Mensah and the playcalling? It felt like the entire offense went into a shell. Again, I understand Wake making adjustments. What I don’t understand is seemingly having no counterpunch whatsoever. Five drives without a first down after what we did offensively in the first half is really hard for me to wrap my head around.


That’s probably my biggest concern coming out of this game. Every team we play is going to look at what Wake did in that second half. Until Miami proves it can beat it, that’s going to be the template. Play us aggressively, challenge these receivers in man coverage without Malachi, and see if our OL can consistently win inside.


So what’s the answer? What did Wake change schematically, and why couldn’t we adjust to it?


The first half was fantastic. There was obviously a lot to like. And the injuries are starting to pile up to an almost absurd degree, which certainly isn’t helping. But I don’t think you can just write off what happened in that second half either. If Miami plays offensively the way it did during that stretch against the better teams on the schedule, I don’t think that’s playoff-level football.


I’m genuinely curious what people who understand the scheme better than I do saw. What exactly did Wake do differently, and why did we have no answer for it?
Click to expand...
We didn’t throw the ball 5 yards down the field. We didn’t make wake play defense. Dawson should be embarrassed
 
yeah I'm confused as well. It's not like Mensah was missing anyone, we just didn't throw it further than 5 yards. if they were tricking him somehow, we will see it again until we beat it.
 
My mind is still blown too. How do you tank that fast after halftime? I could understand a few bad possessions here and there, but it looked like they just gave up. I understand injuries were mounting, but they should still be able to get a couple first downs.
 
Thoughtsoncanes said:
Can someone who understands the X’s and O’s better than me explain what exactly happened in the second half?


We were basically going up and down the field in the first half. Wake really couldn’t stop us. Then it seemed like they made some relatively minor adjustments, particularly playing more man with Malachi out, and suddenly we had five drives where we didn’t get a single first down. How is that even possible? I understand an opponent making adjustments and slowing you down, but going from moving the ball almost at will to five drives without a first down is pretty unbelievable.


I feel like there are a couple things going on. First, I really don’t think the coaches have confidence in our ability to get push inside, and frankly I don’t blame them. Something has to be figured out with the interior OL. We simply are not getting the necessary push. If that means fast-tracking Cantwell at RT and moving McCoy back inside to guard, then I think you at least have to seriously consider it. Because at some point, this interior OL is going to cost us a football game.


The other issue is Malachi being out. Without him, I’m not sure defenses respect our other receivers enough to believe they can consistently beat man coverage. Wake seemed perfectly comfortable challenging those guys one-on-one, and if they found something that worked, you can guarantee everybody else on the schedule is going to see the same film.


And then what happened with Mensah and the playcalling? It felt like the entire offense went into a shell. Again, I understand Wake making adjustments. What I don’t understand is seemingly having no counterpunch whatsoever. Five drives without a first down after what we did offensively in the first half is really hard for me to wrap my head around.


That’s probably my biggest concern coming out of this game. Every team we play is going to look at what Wake did in that second half. Until Miami proves it can beat it, that’s going to be the template. Play us aggressively, challenge these receivers in man coverage without Malachi, and see if our OL can consistently win inside.


So what’s the answer? What did Wake change schematically, and why couldn’t we adjust to it?


The first half was fantastic. There was obviously a lot to like. And the injuries are starting to pile up to an almost absurd degree, which certainly isn’t helping. But I don’t think you can just write off what happened in that second half either. If Miami plays offensively the way it did during that stretch against the better teams on the schedule, I don’t think that’s playoff-level football.


I’m genuinely curious what people who understand the scheme better than I do saw. What exactly did Wake do differently, and why did we have no answer for it?
Click to expand...
Occam's Razor- simplest answer is usual true- Dawson choked without Toney.
 
It's obvious to me now.
We were getting hurt.
Malachi takes himself out the game when he needs to, and he was sitting a lot except on money downs.
Then Wakey bouls were taking cheap shots.

I hope Wake is better than what we're giving them credit for, frfr. They play Louisville, SMU and Virginia, and if Wake wins those, well see them again.

And I want us to take their ******* heads off.
 
305 MOUNTAIN MAN said:
We’re only going as far as our bigs take us. It all starts and ends there. Right now, we’re nowhere near a NC team.
Click to expand...
Some of the same flaws in the second half were also evident against Stanford. Offensive line is nowhere near where it was last year, and pass rush was limited. This is could be closer to a 8-4 type of team rather than a NC caliber squad.
 
Haven’t rewatched yet, but from memory:


1. Fletcher and Brown Injuries: Wake is the type of team you want to run north-south against. They prioritize speed over size, so they have smallish, disruptive players. Without our two big backs that were cooking, run game slowly died. Few perimeter runs went nowhere.

2. Pass Protection: Without Fletcher and Brown, blitz pickup faltered. Looked like it might have created a domino effect. Pressure started to get home.

3. Mensah Didn’t Look Right: With the pass pro shaky, he got hit a couple times, and started moving around gingerly. He wasn’t looking as comfortable in the pocket. Might’ve affected his eyes.

4. Malachi Toney Nicked Up: There goes Mensah’s security blanket. He was only in on 3rd down, and Mensah barely looked for him. Passing game seemed out sync.

5. Dawson Went in the Tank: Playcalling was disjointed, likely due to the first four issues mentioned above. But the personnel groupings were nonsensical. No idea why Lofton is in on obvious passing downs. He’s not a route god or a big catch radius TE. And we’re throwing him fade/go balls. Maybe Dawson didn’t trust the younger receivers. Maybe they were also banged up. Field turf sucks, so who knows. Regardless, that was a disaster class for five possessions in a row.

Again, need to go back and rewatch, but it seemed like a rare total system failure.
 
Sometimes football can be simple. Just keep your opponent in second and longs and you can sort take some chances. Truth is, your eyes aren't fooling you, we aren't road grading oponents anymore. This line is 2 step down from last years. Dawson will have to adjust our play calling to cover it up.

We also missed a few opportunities to end their drives by missing key tackles and some key sacks. **** happens,

In any event no need to panic...unless injuries become debilitating to the team.
 
It starts after they score the make it 31-13. Thornton induces a 15 yard penalty and we’re going to get great field position to start the drive with them kicking from the 20. Of course we get 25 yards of penalties on the return and start the 10 or so. 4 minutes left in the 3rd, 1st down is a 2 years swing pass. 2nd down they bring 4 vs our 6 and Mensah has to escape because the OL getting more **** pushed in than a night in jail and in the process looks tweak something, gets up gives thumbs up. 3 down nobody open and avoiding more pressure he tries to run for the 1st, takes a shot and gets up a bit gimpy. All down hill after that.
 
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